A man stepped in front of a train just minutes after a doctor decided he was not a danger to himself, an inquest heard.

Work colleagues at Seeboard became worried about Grant Saunders, 35, of Congreve Road, Worthing, when he arrived distressed and tearful, and called his parents to collect him.

Mr Saunders' parents called a GP, who referred him immediately to a psychiatrist at the Greenacres mental health unit in Homefield Road, Worthing.

Dr Costas Paplos decided Mr Saunders was not a danger to himself or others. He wrote out a prescription and released him from hospital.

Father Leslie Saunders, who lived next door to his son, broke down in tears as he told the Worthing inquest how he went with his son to the hospital coffee shop while his wife went to get the medicine.

Mr Saunders said: "He was agitated when he came to the coffee area and picked up a paper.

"I saw it had a bad news story so I didn't want him getting more distressed and told him not to read it and handed him a magazine instead.

"Grant threw it down and just ran off. I ran after him but couldn't catch him. I ran upstairs because that's where I thought he had gone. Then I contacted security and the police."

But his son made his way to East Worthing railway station, where he was seen walking down the platform and on to the track.

Train driver Andrew Garwood, of Hollingdean Terrace, Brighton, told the hearing: "I saw a blue shirt on the left of the track on the gravel as I approached the station so I sounded my horn.

"I expected him to step away. I sounded the horn again, braked and went into emergency procedures but he stepped straight in front of the track.

"It was deliberate. He was facing towards me."

Dr Paplos told the hearing: "After the assessment we decided he should not be detained in hospital. He denied trying to attempt suicide and denied hearing voices in his head.

"There was an agreement that I would phone the family 24 hours later. He would take the medication and had an emergency phone number."

Before the day of his death - July 13 - Mr Saunders had shown no signs of physical or mental illness.

His father said: "Grant was a big, strong, strapping chap. He had a lot to live for. He never talked about committing suicide. He talked about the future. He had bought a new car and just got back with an ex-girlfriend.

"We thought Grant would be kept in hospital after the assessment. We were shocked when we were told he could go home with us. He was in a very distressed state."

The jury returned a verdict that Mr Saunders took his own life while the balance of his mind was disturbed.