A WEST Kent farmer who threw himself under a train last August left net estate of £1,687,632.

Bernard Veall, 46, of Bank Farm, Sherenden Road, Tudeley, near Tonbridge, died on August 28, 2001, after being struck by a four-coach train on the railway near his home. An inquest found he had taken his own life.

His wife Caroline, a music teacher, to whom probate has been granted, was already mourning the death of her father. She was arranging his funeral when her husband died. The couple had two teenage sons, Stuart and Christopher, and Mr Veall had a sister, Brenda. In his will, just published, his estate is left to relatives.

Mr Veall, born and bred in Tudeley, was tenant at Bank Farm, having taken over its running following the death of his father Harry several years before. He also managed Slaney Farm, Staplehurst. He was a former Capel parish councillor and had been on the Capel Gardeners' Society committee. He was a former pupil at Tonbridge School and was known as a keen cyclist.

At the time of his death, friends and colleagues paid tribute to him as an "affable and friendly" man.