A 97-year-old man hanged himself with his dressing gown cord despite successfully recovering from an operation.

Emilio Costa's body was found on the stairs at his home in Park Avenue, Shoreham, on January 26.

An inquest at Worthing Hospital heard his granddaughter, Helen Jolly, made the discovery while she was staying with him and his wife Theresa.

Mr Costas, originally from Portugal, had recently had a pacemaker fitted and had received treatment for prostate problems.

The hearing was told the retired shipping agent had been recovering well despite his age and was relatively fit and well.

Ms Jolly told the inquest she had found her grandfather's body with the cord tied around his neck and secured to the banister.

West Sussex coroner Roger Stone said: "It would seem that this happened right out of the blue.

"One cannot know what was on Mr Costa's mind and one can only imagine that perhaps recent events got more on top of him than he let on."

He recorded a verdict that Mr Costa took his own life.