Hemsby father who shot himself ‘didn’t want to be here any more’

Police at a property on The Marrams in Hemsby.Picture: James Bass (Image: Archant Norfolk © 2013)

Clifford Crosbie, 65, used his own licensed gun to kill himself at his home in Hemsby on June 3.

He had separated from his wife of 13 years, Lamyai, just five months before, and she told yesterday's Norwich inquest that Mr Crosbie had become depressed and anxious about his finances, his health and the possibility of losing his house to erosion.

She said: 'Lots of times he came to me saying he didn't want to be here any more. He said he was just fed up.'

Mrs Crosbie said her husband, a retired fork lift truck driver she met while he was on holiday in her native Thailand, was obese and had problems controlling his eating.

'He was not really a happy man,' she said, adding that he also spoke of problems with mounting bills.

Norfolk coroner William Armstrong said that Mr Crosbie, of The Marrams, Hemsby, may have been suffering from a mental health problem at the time of his death, and recorded a verdict of suicide while in a disturbed state of mind.

Mrs Crosbie described how she had maintained a good relationship with her husband since their separation, and had had coffee with him at his house on the day of his death, before going shopping with a friend.

She returned to the house just after midday, and found Mr Crosbie near the back door, with the shotgun underneath him. A note had been left inside the house.

Friend John Withers said Mr Crosbie often spoke of his fears over his seafront home, and concerns 'the sea would wash the property away'.

Mr Armstrong said: 'There's every reason to believe Clifford was suffering from a mental disorder but it was not something he had discussed.'