A FATHER-OF-ONE accidentally hung himself after a prank went tragically wrong, an inquest heard.

James Mortimer, 32, of Homefield Close, Stokenchurch, was found dead after he had tied a vacuum cleaner flex around his neck and hung himself from the staircase of his home.

The inquest at Amersham Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday how Mr Mortimer, an estate agent, had been to dinner with his wife Yesienka, 26, and friends shortly before his death on October 17 last year.

After Mrs Mortimer had gone to bed, Mr Mortimer watched television, drafted a letter and continued to drink. Coroner Richard Hulett said: "He was in a jovial frame of mind and quite lively, particularly because of the alcohol which does not improve judgement."

When Mrs Mortimer went to ask her husband to come to bed she found him collapsed on the stairwell with his hand on the bannister.

The inquest heard Mr Mortimer was planning to relocate to Croatia with his wife and 22-month-old daughter Mia to set up a holiday home.

Mrs Mortimer said in court: "Mia and I shall miss him terribly."

Mr Mortimer's father Stuart said his son was a known as a "prankster" among his friends. He said: "I am convinced that he was carrying out a silly joke that went wrong."

Mr Hulett said the father's statement "struck a different note, as there is an absence of all the usual indicators" for a suicide.

He added: "There is nothing in his background or medical history of depression or anxiety that could lead to suicide.

"There is no sniff of desperation, no suicide note, no statement."

He recorded the death as accidental.