A CHEF hanged himself in a flat above the restaurant where he had worked for less than a month, an inquest heard.

Alessandro Valentini was found, still wearing his chef's trousers, in a self-contained flat at Guido's Italian restaurant in Amersham on October 16.

Manager Matteo Mazza found the 20-year-old when he opened the flat with a spare key after he failed to turn up for work that morning.

Mr Valentini had last been seen two days previously, at the end of his shift. It's believed he hanged himself soon after he had finished work for the day.

A post mortem found a 'moderate' level of ethanol was found in the Italian national's system.

The inquest heard Mr Valentini had only started working as a commis chef at Guido's the previous month, after his father had arranged a job for him there.

Despite no note being found, coroner Richard Hulett was satisfied Mr Valentini had acted deliberately and recorded that he took his own life.