A LOWER Gornal man who had made numerous threats about taking his own life was found hanged in his garage, an inquest heard.

Police discovered the body of 41-year-old Stuart Hollis, at his Boundary Hill home on August 4, 2012, after his employers voiced concern for his wellbeing after he failed to turn up for work.

Philip Hollis told the inquest at Dudley Coroners Court on Monday that a few months prior to his death, his brother, who was a refuse collector, had attempted suicide.

He said since the incident, he had made the effort to see his brother on a regular basis as "he was in a low place".

His ex-partner, Sarah Thompson, told the inquest that she had a "rocky relationship" with Mr Hollis, which had lasted around five years.

She said they had a daughter together, who he saw regularly but said she had stopped contact for a period in early 2012 after he made some inappropriate comments to the youngster about ending his life.

The inquest heard that Miss Thompson had last spoken to Mr Hollis a few days before his death, when she had informed him their daughter was ill and suggested they rearranged his scheduled visit.

She said he had become abusive, both over the phone and in text messages and had threatened to kill himself and added: "That wasn't the first time he had made those threats."

Following a conversation with another of Mr Hollis' ex-partners, she discovered that he had not been to work and told the inquest: "That's when I knew he'd done it."

A post mortem revealed that Mr Hollis had been drinking whisky, but was not above the drink drive limit.

Black Country coroner Robin Balmain recorded the cause of death as asphyxia due to hanging and added: "Mr Hollis hanged himself having consumed a moderate amount of alcohol."