A YORK-BASED civil engineer who never got over his wife's shocking death eventually killed himself, an inquest heard.

John Midgley, who was 60, was found hanging at his home, in Mill Lane, Hemingbrough, on December 7.

Before moving to Hemingbrough, Mr Midgley, a respected civil engineer who worked for Jarvis in York, lived in Thorpe Willoughby with his family.

But tragedy struck in 1992 when his wife, Moira, died after being hit by a car while walking along Flaxley Road, near Selby Common. She was 45.

The couple's daughter, Paula, who was then 14, was walking the family horse along the road. She watched in horror as the impact hurled her mother into a ditch. Shortly after the crash, Mr Midgley told the Evening Press that life without his wife was "difficult to imagine".

Mr Midgley had since begun a relationship with Lynn Fisher, the Selby inquest heard.

The couple had met about four years ago, and had bought a house in Hemingbrough.

Ms Fisher described her relationship with Mr Midgley as "volatile", saying he drank heavily.

He had "never quite got over" his wife's death, she told the inquest.

The couple's relationship began to falter in June last year, and Ms Fisher began spending more time away from home. But she said the pair had not fully separated and remained affectionate. Ms Fisher said she became worried when she could not get in touch with Mr Midgley on December 7, and called the police.

Mr Midgley's son, Tom, 28, of Selby, said in a statement that his father had become very depressed after his wife died, and that he sought solace in drink. He said his father had made "veiled threats" that he might kill himself.

On December 7, Tom went round to his father's house in Hemingbrough twice. He said it was a great shock when police later told him his father was dead.

Coroner Geoff Fell, recording a verdict of suicide, said: "It would appear that Mr Midgley, despite entering into a relationship, had never really got over the death of his wife."

Outside the inquest, Mr Midgley's daughter, Nicky Wright, 34, of York, said tests later showed her father had not been drunk when he hanged himself. His other daughter, Paula, 26, said: "He was a kind and generous man. His family meant everything to him."

Updated: 14:07 Wednesday, January 19, 2005