A 44-year-old Wheatley man who died suddenly in the night may have been suffering a nervous breakdown.

An open verdict was recorded at an inquest yesterday into the death of Mark Wilkinson, of High Street, who died in the early hours of June 1.

His widow, Vanda, told Oxford Coroner's Court that she had become increasingly concerned about her husband, who had been on antidepressants for some time, in the days before his death.

She said: "He was very, very distressed, clearly very depressed, and in consequence he was drinking quite a lot of alcohol. The evening before his death he began to hallucinate."

She said she was woken by him in the night, in a confused state, but she persuaded him to go back to bed. The next morning she found him dead.

Dr Elizabeth Soilleux, a consultant pathologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, said she had been unable to pinpoint the cause of death.

Coroner Nicholas Gardiner said: "It is never very satisfactory when a medical cause of death cannot be ascertained but it does happen from time to time."

Mr Gardiner recorded an open verdict but said there were no suspicious circumstances.