A man shot himself dead less than 24 hours before he was due to appear in court, an inquest heard.

Agricultural labourer Scott Green, 38, was found by a friend in the caravan he kept at New House Farm, East Dean.

He died instantly on September 6 after shooting himself through the roof of his mouth.

Earlier, unmarried Mr Green was said to be in bouyant mood when he went to the Birling Gap Hotel to drop off his pet dog for the manageress to look after.

She had agreed to mind it while Mr Green, of Michel Dene Road, East Dean, appeared in court the following day.

But later that evening his mood soured and he spoke to friend Vivian Swaffer about commiting suicide.

Mr Swaffer, of Gilberts Drive, East Dean, said: "He seemed odd. He had been drinking but he was sober. I had never seen him like that before.

"He said he wanted to take his own life. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was so level-headed about it that I was not getting anywhere with him."

Mr Swaffer told the Eastbourne inquest that he felt uneasy about his friend's state of mind so visited the caravan later that evening but was reassured after spotting a light on and movement inside.

Mr Swaffer returned at 6am the following morning to find the dog unusually in the yard.

He forced open the caravan window where he found Mr Green lying on the bed clasping a shotgun upright.

Tests revealed he had just under three times the legal drink-drive alcohol limit in his blood.

Mother Brenda Green Larksmead said: "He seemed perfectly normal. He even said to his father, 'You won't forget to polish my shoes for the morning will you'."

Recording a verdict of suicide, coronor Alan Craze said: "Whenever something like this happens everybody connected with the death examines the circumstances to see whether they could have done something to prevent it.

"Unfortunately that happens in every suicide. But the simple fact of the matter was that Mr Green knew what he was doing.

"It is trite but if it had not happened on that night it would have happened at a different place on a different night at a different time."