Sign up to receive two FREE daily bulletin e-mails, as well as breaking news as it happens Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A man who took his own life after running out of money for his electricity meter left a suicide note sarcastically “thanking” Universal Credit bosses.

Brian Sycamore was having trouble getting the controversial benefit, his brother told his inquest.

Mr Sycamore, of Long Eaton, wrote the note on his phone before taking an overdose of pills.

The 62-year-old had suffered with back pain for many years but his brother claimed the problems he was having with Universal Credit were the “trigger” for his suicide.

Mr Sycamore's housemate Paul Baker found him dead in his bed with a large amount of medication on his bedside table on September 30, 2017.

An inquest at Derby and Derbyshire Coroner’s Court yesterday heard that all the medication was legitimately prescribed to Mr Sycamore for his back conditions.

A GP said Mr Sycamore, of Bennett Street, had no record of mental health problems or previous suicide attempts, and a psychiatric doctor said he had never been admitted to Kingsway Hospital.

Assistant coroner Louise Pinder said Mr Sycamore’s brother, Henry Sycamore, believed he took his own life because of problems with his benefits.

She said: “Henry has said to us that he believes this was a deliberate act.

“He had been in pain for many years. But he believes the trigger was down to problems he was having with his Universal Credit.”

PC Mark Karim, of Derbyshire police, read a note that was left on Mr Sycamore’s unlocked phone.

He said: “There was a note that said ‘can you thank the people who work at the Department for Work and Pensions?’

“There was also a reference to the electricity meter running out.”

The coroner and PC Karim both agreed that the “thanks” in the note were intended to be sarcastic.

Housemate Mr Baker last saw Mr Sycamore alive two days before his death. Mr Baker spent the day before the suicide in bed, due to illness, but decided to check on Mr Sycamore when he stopped hearing noise coming from his room.

Mr Baker did not move the body but called East Midlands Ambulance Service paramedics, who recorded the time of death as 3.33pm, and who also called police to the scene.

A post-mortem carried out in Derby, and toxicology tests completed in Sheffield, found that Mr Sycamore had lethal levels of four different medicines in his system.

The coroner recorded Mr Sycamore’s death as “suicide” and said the cause of death was “mixed drug toxicity”.

However, while she did state that there was a note left on his phone, she did not refer to problems with Universal Credit as a cause or contributing factor when recording her conclusion.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions, which handles benefits claims, said his sympathies were with Mr Sycamore's family.

He said: "Suicide is a very complex issue, so it would be wrong to link it solely to someone’s benefit claim.

“We are committed to safeguarding vulnerable claimants and we keep our guidance under constant review to ensure we provide the highest standard of protection.”