THE reasons why a leading Suffolk lawyer took his own life will never be known, an inquest heard yesterday.The body of James Terry, 48, was discovered in the garden of his home in The Street, Brundish, near Framlingham, on Tuesday, June 21.

THE reasons why a leading Suffolk lawyer took his own life will never be known, an inquest heard yesterday.

The body of James Terry, 48, was discovered in the garden of his home in The Street, Brundish, near Framlingham, on Tuesday, June 21.

At an inquest yesterday Lowestoft Coroner George Leguen de Lacroix recorded a verdict of suicide but said Mr Terry had taken his own life while the balance of his mind was disturbed.

He said Mr Terry, who was a senior prosecutor employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in Suffolk, had left no note and that the reasons why he took his own life would never be known.

His wife Ailsa Terry was too upset to attend the inquest but agreed to a statement being read out.

In it, she said her husband had spoken about his concerns regarding his employment and possibly felt he was being overlooked for promotion.

She said he had considered becoming self-employed and decided to have a full medical examination before any change of job.

The medical revealed that Mr Terry was slightly overweight and suffering from high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels so he decided to treat his health more seriously, said Mrs Terry.

Despite his efforts Mr Terry suffered what was described as a "minor heart attack" in early June and was hospitalised for six days before returning home on sick leave to recover.

On Monday, June 20, Mr Terry went on a cycle ride with his two young children before reading them a bedtime story.

Later that evening he went to the Crown public house in Brundish but did not drink an excessive amount of alcohol.

He had not returned home when Mrs Terry went to bed but that did not alarm her, she said in her statement.

The next morning Mrs Terry said she heard the family's dog barking and when she went to investigate discovered Mr Terry's body in the garden.

She said Mr Terry was in a kneeling position with the rope from the children's swing around his neck.

Mrs Terry said she telephoned the emergency services but was desperate to prevent the children from seeing the body.

"I have no idea why James would want to take his own life," she said.

A post mortem confirmed that Mr Terry had died from hanging and the coroner confirmed that Mr Terry had not left a suicide note.

"It is impossible to say why Mr Terry died as he left no note," said the coroner.

Mr Terry's friends in Brundish and family members said he had been his "normal jokey self" in the days leading up to his death and had not spoken to anyone about taking his own life.