A REDDITCH HGV driver who lost his licence and his job after a second drink-drive conviction hanged himself in a remote spot near Stroud, Gloucestershire, an inquest heard.

James Guilfoyle, aged 39, of Haresfield Close, Redditch, had decided to go back-packing in Gloucestershire in the hope of finding a new life - but ultimately chose death instead.

His body was found by a dog walker on a footpath alongside the old Stroudwater Canal at Fromebridge, near Whitminster.

Gloucestershire deputy coroner David Dooley recorded a verdict that Mr Guilfoyle committed suicide on July 7 this year.

The Gloucester inquest was told that about a year before his death he had been banned from driving for four years on an excess alcohol charge. He had lost his job as a lorry driver and he may never have been able to get another HGV licence.

His sister Tammy Bird, who attended the inquest, said: "He still had his accommodation in Redditch but the information we have from friends is that he planned to come to Gloucester to make a new start, to see where it took him. He planned to sleep rough until he could find a new residential place."

The coroner said: "He set out from Redditch with the intention of making a fresh start but depression has overtaken him. He was unlikely to get his HGV licence back for at least three years - if ever, as this was his second ban.

"I can be sure of his intent to take his own life."