More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A father has paid a moving tribute to his estranged brother after he took his own life.
Matthew Little was found dead by council workers who were clearing undergrowth behind Topps Tiles in Folkestone, just days after the 43-year-old was released from prison.
Speaking after his inquest older brother Peter spoke of Matt's battle with addiction and the family's shock at his death, describing mental illness as a "silent cancer".
Mr Little, who grew up with Matt and their three other brothers around Maidstone, said: "It got too difficult seeing him all the time, we lead very different lives, I've got a job and a family.
"But he still could have come to me and said I'm really struggling, I would've helped him.
"I would have made sure he had somewhere to live and got him sectioned, that way he would have got the help he needed.
"That would've got him off the drugs and that's what he needed."
An inquest at Archbishop's Palace today heard Matt Little had been diagnosed with a personality disorder and would spend £40 a day on crack cocaine and heroin.
Seven days before he was found dead, the father-of-four was released from HMP Elmley.
The inquest heard Matt Little, a former Cornwallis School pupil, had spent time in prison for theft offences.
The former factory worker and labourer had lived in Tonbridge prior to his death and had overdosed on multiple occasions in the past.
Peter and Matt both knew Sammy Draper, who was found hanged near a Sainsbury's supermarket in Maidstone last month.
Peter, who now lives with his family in Tonbridge, said: "There isn't enough support for men, especially with mental health. It's like a silent cancer.
"It's such a shock he was such a big powerful man he could handle himself but was so friendly, he wasn't violent, but this still got to him.
"He had a wife from a lovely family who tried to help look after him but he just got lost in all of the mental health problems and the drugs.
"He was lovely, and well liked, but he's gone now God bless him."
For more information on how we can report on inquests, click here
