A CONTRACT manager found hanged at his home near Darlington last weekend had told friends he had been feeling unwell.

Neighbours called police to 59-year-old divorcee Ivan Manning's house, in The Oaklands, Middleton-One-Row, on Saturday when they noticed the curtains had not been opened, and there was milk on the doorstep. The night before, he had joined friends for a drink in a pub but had been unusually quiet, neighbour Michael Corvell told an inquest at Bishop Auckland Magistrates Court.

Mr Manning's son-in-law, Grant Hutch, said the self-employed consultant had been taking time off work without telling his family. He had suffered a stroke a year ago and had been worried about his health.

Darlington and South Durham coroner Colin Penna recorded a verdict that Mr Manning had taken his own life