A YOUNG jockey who was about to get his first riding licence hanged himself only days after he had parted from his girlfriend, an inquest was told.

A verdict that Lee Weightman, 21, of Common Farm, Upper Helmsley, York, killed himself was recorded by North Yorkshire East Coroner Michael Oakley.

He had been found hanged in racing stables at the farm, where he lived and worked, last November.

Assistant trainer at the farm Paul Sedgewick said Mr Weightman had worked there for about three months, and had shared a room with him in the large farmhouse.

He told the inquest that on the morning of his death, he had taken Mr Weightman and two other stablehands in a vehicle to the yard to work with the horses.

Mr Sedgewick told the inquest that he never saw him alive again.

He said Mr Weightman, who was also a stablehand, had recently separated from his girlfriend.

He said that on the night before his death, he was very quiet, but said: "That was not unusual. He was a real grafter. He never said he would harm himself.

"If anything, I thought things were looking rosy for him because he was going to get his riding licence."

Giving his verdict, Mr Oakley said: "There was nothing untoward in his behaviour other than him breaking up with his girlfriend, which may have affected his mood and may have been the cause."