A 40-year-old man from Great Missenden took his own life after he faced being evicted from his flat, an inquest heard this week.

Istvan Szilagyi, also known as Steve, was found hanging at home on September 12 by an estate agent who had gone over to collect his keys and do a final check of the property.

Paul Barrett, who found Mr Szilagyi, said he lived on his own in the flat and was due to move out on the day of his death.

An inquest yesterday (Wednesday) heard Mr Szilagyi, a Romanian, was in arrears with his rent and council tax, and was facing eviction.

In a statement read out by corner’s officer Geraldine Trickett, Mr Barrett said he rang the doorbell of the property at around 2.54pm, but no-one answered.

He said: “I had previously been told by the tenant that it was not working and that he was going to fix it.

“I got a call shortly before 3pm saying that Steve would be home at around 3.30pm, so I returned to the office.”

When Mr Barrett went back to the flat at 3.30pm, there was still no answer and so he called his wife Marie bring the keys to the office.

He added: “I went back to the office and spoke to a colleague. We then returned to the property at around 4.30pm with the keys.

“I went to the stairs and knocked on the door. I shouted some words to the effect of ‘Is anyone in there?’ and ‘Is Steve in there?’ and no-one answered.

The duo finally managed to get into the flat but could not open the door fully as it was being blocked by something.

Mr Barrett said: “It was immediately obvious that Steve had not left the property [like he said he was going to earlier] as his coat and shoes were still in the lounge.”

His colleague Annette Baldwin suggested they return to the office and call the police.

He added: “I wondered if Steve was being difficult.”

The duo went back to their office where Mr Barrett called his wife, and then returned to the flat.

Mr Barrett said they pushed the door harder to get it open, and found Mr Szilagyi on the other side, calling the police and ambulance.

DC Thomas Digby said he found two suicide notes – one in English addressed to a Marie and the other in Romanian addressed to his ex-girlfriend Eva Tatar, who identified him.

The medical cause of death was ruled as hanging and assistant coroner Alison McCormick ruled a verdict of suicide, saying: “He intended to take his own life.”