An extroverted man with bipolar disorder has killed himself in isolation after loneliness 'pushed him over the edge'.

Daniel Furniss, 34, lived by himself in Crookhorn, near Portsmouth, and stayed indoors as his diabetes made him particularly vulnerable to coronavirus.

But the outgoing 'big kid' who was a 'joy to everyone' struggled with the lack of contact and sadly took his own life, according to his distraught family.

Sister Chelsea Furniss, 28, is now calling on health authorities to urgently ratchet up support for those suffering mental health issues during the lockdown.

Speaking to MailOnline, the heartbroken sibling said: 'Isolation had a great impact on him.

'When the official lockdown was announced he shared a few things on his social media page about how he felt like he was going to be in trouble getting through this, and that there was no guidance released for people with serious mental health conditions, especially if they were on their own. He found it very hard.'

Daniel Furniss, 34, lived by himself in Crookhorn, near Portsmouth, and stayed indoors as his diabetes made him particularly vulnerable to coronavirus

Sister Chelsea Furniss (left), 28, is now calling on health authorities to urgently ratchet up support for those suffering mental health issues during the lockdown

Last week, Ms Furniss and her family, who regularly spoke to Daniel via video calls, became concerned when they couldn't get in contact with him.

On the morning of March 27 they called the police, who found Daniel dead at him home where he lived alone.

Fondly remembering her brother, who was 'loved and adored by so many people,' she said: 'He would always dress very bright and colourful – you couldn't miss him.

'Dan brought a lot of joy to everyone's lives. Although he was aged 34 he was just a big kid at heart.'

But she said her brother, who has battled with bipolar disorder since his teenage years, struggled with loneliness during the lockdown, despite his family's best efforts to stay in touch.

Miss Furniss added: 'Dan had a long history of mental health issues and one of the things he struggled with was being on his own.

'He lived on his own but would go out every day. Dan had diabetes and was classed as a high risk person so after lockdown he was unable to go out which we think pushed him over the edge.

The outgoing 'big kid' who was a 'joy to everyone' struggled with the lack of contact and sadly took his own life, according to his distraught family

'We were concerned about him being in isolation and stayed in touch but were not able to see him.

'There is not enough guidance for people with mental health issues.

'More could be done to help people who are struggling while self-isolating. Hopefully what's happened with Dan can raise awareness of these issues.'

Ms Furniss also said her family is 'completely overwhelmed and touched by people's generosity especially at a time of such difficulty' after a GoFundMe raised nearly £2,000 for his funeral.

'I wasn't expecting that reaction at all, especially as I know everyone else is having such struggles and difficulties at the moment,' she said.

However, only his parents and four siblings will be able to attend the funeral because of restrictions due to the lockdown.

A Department of Health source pointed to their advice to help people's mental health during isolation.

It includes talking to family and friends on social media, taking regular exercise and using the NHS helpline.

For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch. See www.samaritans.org for details