Viewers to an online chatroom watched as Kevin Whitrick, 42, hanged himself in front of his webcam.

Here’s the odd bit of the story. Sad, but strangely poetic:

Neighbours described Mr Whitrick as being “happy and friendly” but said his mood was subdued the night he died.

Sharon Atwal, from a cornershop opposite Mr Whitrick’s flat said: “Every night he’d take eight cans of Boddington’s bitter from the fridge and re-stock it with the cans from the shelf. He always seemed quite cheerful.”

She said he “did not seem himself” on Wednesday and also failed to restock the fridge for the first time. “It was as if he knew he wouldn’t be coming back” she said.