A seventy-year-old man from Pembroke died from an overdose after he had taken steps to end his own life an inquest heard this week.

The inquest at Milford Haven town hall on Thursday, led by Pembrokeshire Coroner Mark Layton, into the death of Gareth Clifford Morgan, of Springfield Terrace, The Green, heard how the deceased had become depressed since his wife who suffered with Parkinson’s Disease had been admitted into a care home the year before.

Coroner’s Officer for Dyfed Powys Police, Jeremy Davies, told the inquest that Mr. Morgan (who liked to be known as Gary), had mentioned to his good friend John Stephen Bowen on a few occasions that he had considered suicide, but had always reassured him that he was only joking and that he wouldn’t take his own life.

A statement from Mr. Bowen said that he and Mr. Morgan had become friends after they started drinking at the Watermans Arms in Pembroke, but that his friend was not a big drinker.

On the day of May 12, Mr. Bowen had been expecting Mr. Morgan to ring him but when he didn’t hear from him he became concerned and went around to his home that afternoon.

Mr. Morgan was found slumped in his chair, still breathing but unresponsive, with two bottles of whisky nearby, one of which was empty.

Mr. Bowen called the ambulance service but his friend never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at Withybush Hospital later that night.

Coroner Mr. Layton said that the post-mortem report stated that Mr. Morgan had Rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which damaged skeletal muscle breaks down rapidly, and that he had overdosed on a combination of Antipsychotic drugs and alcohol.

“In the lead up to his death, Mr. Morgan had become increasingly depressed and took deliberate steps to end his own life,” Mr. Layton said, before recording a verdict of suicide.