THE drug overdose that killed retired haulage contractor William Heaslip was probably a cry for help, an inquest heard.

His partner and mother of his children, Elizabeth O'Shea, told the hearing that there were other tablets in the house he could have taken had he been determined to take his own life.

And coroner Michael Singleton said it seemed a shame that Mr Heaslip had been let down by the system which he had desperately needed to help him.

The inquest heard that Mr Heaslip, 57, of Willows Lane, Accrington, suffered highs and lows in his mood and had received psychiatric treatment in the past. Towards the end of April he had a hospital appointment with psychiatrist Dr Franks but did not keep it.

Mrs O'Shea said when she got home from work she asked how the appointment had gone and Mr Heaslip said he had not kept it but had drunk some bleach instead. She said he had done that to try to get admitted to hospital, to try and prompt some action.

"When he came back from hospital in the early hours of the morning he said he had begged the hospital to keep him but they refused," said Mrs O'Shea. She went to work on May 1, and when she returned at 5.45pm, Mr Heaslip was in bed which Mrs O'Shea took as a sign that he was depressed.

Later that evening Mrs O'Shea realised there was something wrong when she could not rouse Mr Heaslip. There was an empty packet of prescribed anti-depressant tablets by the bed and Mrs O'Shea later discovered that 16 paracetamol tablets were missing. Mr Heaslip was rushed to hospital but died eight days later without regaining consciousness.

"I don't think he intended to do what he did, I think it was just a cry for help," said Mrs O'Shea, who said she believed her partner had just wanted to get himself re-admitted to hospital so someone there would realise how serious things were.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, Mr Singleton said it was a great shame that somehow the system had let Mr Heaslip down.

"Here was a man who needed help but for whatever reason the system did not provide it," said Mr Singleton. "In trying to get that help he ended up taking his own life."