AN ELDERLY man took his own life because he couldn't cope with the death of his wife, an inquest was told.

In April, William Agley, 73, of Burdett Avenue, Shorne, near Gravesend, shut himself in his garage and left his hire car running.

His son, Paul, of Lodge Lane, Cobham, near Rochester, found his father slumped in the front passenger seat after receiving a call from a neighbour.

The son found a note from his father apologising for being "a nuisance". Mr Agley had previously spoken to his family about missing his wife and wanting to be with her.

The son told the inquest at Gravesend: "I feel he wasn't able to cope without her and that is why he took his own life."

Pathologist Peter Jerreat said death was due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The coroner, Roger Hatch, said: "Mr Agley died on April 28, nearly a year to the day his wife died. He never got over the death of his wife."