A MAN who had been worried about his job committed suicide at the bottom of Europe’s deepest mine, a coroner has concluded.

Paul Tonge, 52, of Grosmont, North Yorkshire, had been told he would keep his job despite redundancies at Boulby Potash Mine in east Cleveland but was still worried about his longer term future at work.

He had also been ill and sometimes in serious pain and his wife, Pauline, 62, believed that even mild doses of Diazepam had a negative effect on his mood.

The inquest at Teesside Magistrates Court today (Tuesday, May 17) heard Mr Tonge’s colleague, Martin Dewing, explain that Mr Tonge had seemed his normal self at the mine's bait cabin at work.

However his mood darkened when he talked about redundancies, changing shift patterns and the possibility that his line manager would be made redundant.

Later Mr Dewing noticed his friend had been missing for an hour or so and went searching for him, following Mr Tonge’s footprints in the dust.

He found him hanged, and although he got help, Mr Tonge was already dead.

Mrs Tonge told the inquest her husband had been very worried about losing his job and, despite the fact he was one of the men given a new contract after redundancies were announced, was still concerned about the future.

He had secretly been taking occasional Diazepam pills without telling his wife and she believed it affected his mood.

She described Mr Tonge as, “very loyal” who had only “cared that I was happy since we met in September, 1993.”

Acting senior coroner Clare Bailey concluded Mr Tonge had committed suicide.