A Watford construction worker hanged himself in a building he was renovating after failing to cope with his diabetes, an inquest heard today.

David Barnett, 24, was discovered by police suspended from a joist with a high-visibility jacket draped over his face.

A ‘farewell note’ had been left on the keyboard of a laptop computer in an adjacent room at the house in Salem Road, Bayswater, West London.

City of Westminster Coroner’s Court heard Mr Barnett, of Branscombe House, Gisburne Way, Watford, was a diagnosed diabetic.

Coroner’s officer Terry Lovegrove told the court his diabetes was ‘a condition he had been unable to come to terms with and suffered mood swings as a result.’ The inquest heard that the body was discovered at 1.40am on August 6 this year after Mr Barnett’s family became concerned about his welfare and contacted police.

Sergeant Louise Da Prato was among the officers sent to search the building where Mr Barnett was discovered.

She told the hearing the family had raised the alarm out of concern he “may have be distressed or collapsed inside.”

Mr Barnett, she explained, was found hanging by a rope tied to a roof joist. A chair lay on its side by his feet.

Coroner Dr Paul Knapman, who recorded a verdict of suicide, said: “The fact is he was a young man of 24. He had diabetes.

“He had to watch his diet and take insulin etcetera, etcetera, and this can be very, very difficult for a person who does not want to be meticulous.

“All his mates are going out eating and drinking and he is advised to watch it. It may be as simple and tragic as that, that he really had difficulty accepting and dealing with his diabetes.”