Much loved Wigan husband and dad who took his own life on Good Friday was ‘happy and making plans for the future’

An inquest was held into the death of Carl Spear, 39, whose body was found at the family home in Honister Road, Wigan, on the morning of Good Friday, April 7.

Carl's two young children were both in the house at the time while his wife was at work. She asked a neighbour, described as Carl's best friend - with whom the couple had been socialising the evening before - to go round and check on him after Carl failed to reply to his wife's messages.

The neighbour discovered Carl's body in one of the children's bedrooms, who were both downstairs at the time.

At the inquest held at Bolton Coroners Court, Carl was described as a wood engineer whose hobbies included walking and hiking.

He had been off work sick with flu-type symptoms in the days leading up to his death.

The coroner, Peter Sigee, read out a statement from Carl's wife Samantha, in which she said that her husband's death had come out of the blue and was a complete shock.

She added: "I'm racking my brains as to why Carl would do such a thing, but there is nothing. He was happy, and was making plans for the future."

The inquest heard that Carl had struggled with his mental health several years before, but he had never tried to harm himself or threatened to do so.

Likewise the neighbour who discovered Carl's body and with whom he’d been socialising the evening before said he had had "no concerns" regarding him or his welfare. "It's the last thing I thought he would do," he said in a statement.

Carl had been a popular member of the Black Scorpion Karate club, Pemberton, and a fundraiser set up for the family at the time of his death described him as a "very much loved husband, dad, son and friend to many."

The coroner, Mr Sigee, concluded Carl had died by suicide and passed on his condolences to his family and friends, who were not present at the hearing.