A man who took his own life had suffered a "sharp mental decline" in the months before his death, a coroner has said.

An inquest into the death of Thomas Rossington, who was found hanged at his parents' home in Cawston, north Norfolk, was concluded at Norfolk Coroner's Court today (May 23).

Yvonne Blake, the area coroner for Norfolk, said in her conclusion that while Mr Rossington had taken his own life on November 21 last year, his mental health was in such a state he was "unable to rationally know what he was doing".

Ms Blake said Mr Rossington suffered from what psychiatrists call "psychotic and aberrant behaviour" and there was no prior evidence of suicidal intent.

The inquest, which started last Thursday, heard Mr Rossington had been sectioned three times under the Mental Health Act in the months before he died and he had been admitted to several psychiatric institutions, including at Hellesdon, Ipswich and Great Yarmouth.

His mother, Frances Rossington, claimed that her son had suffered the effects of being poisoned by 13 heavy metals from Bacton Gas Terminal when he was a child, which was near where the family lived for eight years.

Mrs Rossington said: "When we were at home in Bacton we would get so ill we would wake up in the night coughing. It was just so hard to get any medical help at all."

The inquest heard Mr Rossington had a prior diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which he later relapsed into.

He was admitted to Northgate Hospital in Great Yarmouth in June last year, presenting as "delusional and agitated".

He was referred to a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit, which declined the admission, but his condition was then said to have improved.

Mrs Rossington said her son's psychotic episodes or "dips" were caused by medication, but Ms Blake said there was no evidence to support this.

Mrs Rossington said: "He said to me 'I don't think I'm ever going to come out of this one, mum, because of all the drugs that I've been given'."

Ms Blake offered her "sincere condolences" to the family of Mr Rossington, who enjoyed martial arts and music.

*If you need help and support, call NHS 111 and select option 2 or the Samaritans on 116 123. Both services are available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You can also download the Stay Alive app on Apple & Android.