An accountant killed himself because he wrongly thought he was going to be blamed for a company's huge financial losses, an inquest heard.

Norman Bridgewater was found by his wife hanging from the rafters of their Kidlington home after he discovered a problem with the accounts at TWR Group Limited, which employed him.

But yesterday, human resources director Linda Willis told an inquest that Mr Bridgewater, who was based in Broadstone, near Chipping Norton, was not to blame.

"The group finance director has since investigated the problems with the accounts," she told an inquest in Oxford.

"There was a significant anomaly, but in no way would Norman have been held personally liable for the error."

Mr Bridgewater's wife of ten years, Elizabeth, said he returned to their Broad Close home from work on January 18 very upset and suffering from a flu-like virus.

After some cajoling. Mr Bridgewater, 42, revealed that the company's predicted large profits were actually going to turn into an equally large loss.

His wife said: "He was convinced he was going to lose his job. He was quite irrational."

She persuaded him to talk to a neighbour who was also an accountant, but he was not consoled. She said the following morning her husband was still very upset and said he had been awake most of the night. "For the first time in his life he agreed he should not go to work," she said.

Mrs Bridgewater booked a doctor's appointment for her husband before taking their children to school. When she returned at midday she went to check on him in bed. She got part-way up the stairs and could see her husband hanging in the loft entrance.

Emergency services were called and she fetched a neighbour. Her attempts to resuscitate her husband failed.

She said: "I think when I saw my neighbour's shock I snapped out of it and went to cut him down."

Det Sgt Robert Smith, who attended the scene, said there were no signs of a struggle or suspicious circumstances. Consultant pathologist Dr Peter Millard said the cause of death was injuries associated with non-manual strangulation.

Coroner Nicholas Gardiner recorded a verdict that Mr Bridgewater took his own life. He said: "I do regard it as a tragic coincidence that the error in the company's budget coincided with this death. One can see it could have led to this tragic situation."

Speaking after the inquest, Steve Fernback, TWR Group Ltd's finance director, said Mr Bridgewater, who had worked for the firm since 1988, was very conscientious, well respected and greatly missed.