A remand prisoner accused of raping a young woman hanged himself after being segregated following a dispute about his credit cards.

Jose Ramon Espineira-Villar, 43, used a torn bedsheet looped around window bars in his cell at Lewes prison, an inquest heard.

Mr Espineira-Villar, a hepatitis C sufferer of Queen's Gardens, Eastbourne, was found dead by officers during a random check at 11.30pm on July 31 last year.

He had been accused of raping a woman aged 22 in Eastbourne on May 21 last year and was due at a plea and directions hearing at Lewes Crown Court on August 16.

Fellow prisoners and staff told the Eastbourne inquest yesterday the unmarried prisoner felt frustrated at being confined.

He had few visitors and spoke little English, meaning he could not converse with other inmates at the prison.

When a fellow Spanish inmate, who had acted as his translator was moved to another prison, Mr Espineira-Villar's became agitated.

His frustration boiled over three days before his death when he tried to throw himself from the fourth-floor landing after climbing on to a fire extinguisher.

He made another protest on the day of his death after again being annoyed at not having his credit cards transferred to Lewes with him from Winchester prison.

A post-mortem examination revealed the cause of death as hanging. The jury returned a suicide verdict.