An inquest has heard how a Carnmenellis, Stithians, man died aboard a boat in Falmouth Harbour following a catalogue of mysterious circumstances.

Dr Emma Carlyon, acting West Cornwall coroner, this week resumed the inquest into the death of private investigator and smallholder Stephen Douglas, aged 44. Witnesses told how, on Friday, January 24, 2003, Mr Douglas left his home and drove into Falmouth, taking a vehicle from Ponsharden which he drove to the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club.

There he boarded a dinghy which did not belong to him. He was subsequently seen in the water, at which point the Coastguard service was alerted. But when a pilot boat went to investigate, Mr Douglas was seen on a yacht, 100 yards off the Flushing shore.

Mr Douglas's body was subsequently recovered from the boat, the Felice, and a post mortem by Home Office pathologist, Dr Guyan Fernando, concluded conclusively that he had died from hanging.

Mr Douglas's widow, Avril, told the inquest that her husband was not suicidal, but had been agitated deeply in the days leading up to his death as he became increasingly concerned about the safety of himself and his family.

This had come about in the wake of a police raid upon the family's home in which Mr Douglas's computer was taken away for two months. He thought that when the computer was returned it may have been fitted with software which would download unsuitable material for which he could be prosecuted. He claimed people were watching the family home and felt phones were being tapped. He even mentioned the existence of a sinister cult. On the day he died, he took an air gun with him because he felt "they" were going to shoot at him. Mrs Douglas assumed "they" were the police.

She thought he was going to take a vehicle and flee the county on road in order to alert authorities outside of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary area. Because his last words to her had been to get Mrs Douglas and the children to safety, she went to Helston that evening, to be with friends. It was later she learned of the tragedy in Falmouth Harbour.

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 thinks 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."

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 following a call from Falmouth Coastguard. Having failed to spot anyone, they approached Mr Douglas on the Felice, 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, returning later on, minus Mr Kent, when they learnt there was a firearm involved, in order to help keep other vessels away from the area.

Inquest continuing.