THE real reason why Stephen Douglas hanged himself from a yacht's mast in Falmouth Harbour remains a mystery after a coroner recorded an open verdict at an inquest into his death.

In the weeks leading up to his death, part-time private investigator and smallholder Stephen Douglas, 44, of Trenarth Farm, Carnmenellis, near Stithians, became convinced people were out to get him.

Speaking at the inquest in Camborne this week, his widow Avril said her husband had been in a dreadful state.

"He was on about someone trying to get him and saying we were in some sort of danger," she said. "He really frightened me because he was always a strong sort of person. He said he had been driving with our daughter Hannah when someone shot at him. He said that when he got home later there were two men watching our house. He watched them through binoculars and said they were holding shotguns.

"He had changed completely. He looked terrible and wasn't sleeping. He was convinced that our phones were tapped and that our computer was bugged. He was afraid someone was trying to frame him as a paedophile."

A year before her husband's death, police had raided the couple's home in connection with an investigation they were carrying out and taken away Mr Douglas's computer. It was later returned. A subsequent Police Complaints Authority investigation showed that Mr Douglas's fears about police persecution had been totally unfounded.

Two days prior to his death, Mr Douglas went to the Duchy Hospital , in Truro, where his wife worked as a nurse to talk to her urgently. He told her that the family was in great danger and they had to get away. On that day, she managed to send him back home and promised they would talk later.

The inquest heard how, on January 24 last year, Mr Douglas left his home and drove into Falmouth, taking a vehicle from Ponsharden, which he drove to the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club. He took an air gun with him because he felt "they" were going to shoot at him.

There he boarded a dinghy, which did not belong to him. He was then seen in the water and the Coastguard service was alerted.

Pilot Alan Stephens, who works for Falmouth Harbour Commissioners, told how he, Gordon Kent and Andrew Dale had gone out searching for a man in the water.

Having failed to spot anyone, they approached Mr Douglas on the Felise, at first to ask him if he had seen anything, but they soon realised that it was he who had been in the water.

When asked if he needed help, Mr Douglas just grunted a reply. When they heard that the lifeboat was approaching, they pulled back.

When the inshore lifeboat crew arrived, the RNLI men were shocked to discover a man waving a gun at them, at which point they withdrew.

Retired company director Derek Hall watched events unfold through his astronomical telescope at his home in Flushing overlooking Falmouth Harbour.

Mr Hall told the inquest he had seen Mr Douglas climb on the boom of the vessel, then jump two or three times. He then saw Mr Douglas jump again and then be still.

There was concern from Mr Douglas's family about the length of time police took to get on board Felise and confirm that he was dead.

When asked why officers had not boarded the vessel as soon as it had appeared Mr Douglas had hanged himself, DC Dave Fortey explained that because a firearm had already been involved, strict procedures involving the tactical firearms unit had to be followed.

Although officers had sight of Mr Douglas, apparently hanged, they had no idea if anyone else was on board the vessel and if they might be carrying a firearm. In the event, the Felise was not boarded by police until 7.52pm, four hours after Mr Douglas had left his home.

Mr Douglas's body was subsequently recovered from the yacht and a post mortem examination carried out by Home Office pathologist Dr Guyan Fernando concluded conclusively that he had died from hanging. Blood and urine samples were sent away for analysis but no traces of drugs or alcohol were found.

Dr Fernando said a heavy rope had been wrapped around Mr Douglas's neck, although no knot had been made to form a noose. The method was sufficient to hang a man, although it was unusual, occurring in only two or three of some 800 cases Dr Fernando had experience of over the years.

Mrs Douglas described her husband as a well-balanced person. "I have no idea what made him behave in the way he did," she told the inquest.

She thought he might have been heading for the boat of a friend, Chris Cooper, but that he got on the wrong vessel. "I think he was hoping to sail it out."

A statement from Mr Douglas's GP, Dr Mike Ellis, of Penryn, revealed that Mr Douglas, originally from Birmingham, had received counselling following a bout of depression over eight years leading up to 2002, although he had refused to take medication. Dr Ellis considered the counselling to have been successful and did not treat Mr Douglas for any sort of depression-related illness afterwards.

Mrs Douglas confirmed there had been family problems in the past, which had made her husband depressed, but since then they had been a happy, close-knit family. They had known each other since they were at school.

The couple moved to Cornwall 15 years ago and lived on a smallholding with some three acres of land. Mr Douglas worked part-time as a private investigator. There was not enough work to keep him occupied full-time, but he was an excellent father, looking after the children while Mrs Douglas committed herself to her career.

West Cornwall Coroner Dr Emma Carlyon said she had no choice other than to record the open verdict as she did not have enough evidence to be able to say "beyond reasonable doubt" that Mr Douglas had committed suicide.