A MAN hanged himself in a wood shortly after he was told of the ending of a relationship.

Lawrence Smith, 43, was discovered below a tree on an embankment of the Meon Valley Trail near Station Road, Wickham, on February 24, an inquest heard.

The previous evening his partner Sally Agnew had told him she thought their four and half-year relationship was over.

In a statement read to the inquest she said his employment was under threat and this stressed him and caused tension.

On the evening of February 23 the father-of-one, of Wykeham Field, Wickham, placed his wallet and glasses neatly on the sofa and left a note in the kitchen saying: "I'm in the woods."

That morning Ms Agnew saw he was missing and alerted the police. With local firefighters the police started a search and found him within minutes, about five minutes walk from his home.

Senior coroner Grahame Short recorded a conclusion of suicide.

"This must have been a deliberate act given the complexity of the ligature he rigged up. He intended to end his life".