A MUCH-loved designer took his own life jumping off a cliff edge after battling with depression for years.

Andrew Leng lived in Hertford Road, Brighton, and worked as a freelance graphic designer.

The 36-year-old had been suffering with severe mental health issues in the last two years of his life.

He was receiving cognitive behavioural therapy and taking medication.

An inquest into his death held yesterday heard Mr Leng was much-loved and had a lot of friends.

He was engaged and described as “the nicest guy” and a popular football player by his friends.

But he was found dead at the foot of the cliffs at Beachy Head near Eastbourne on August 20 last year.

More than 250 people attended his funeral in Brighton.

The post-mortem into his death showed Mr Leng had multiple fractures and injuries to his body. No drugs or alcohol were detected.

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Celia Thomas, clinical lead nurse at Sussex Partnership Trust (SPT), told the court Mr Leng was suffering from intense, recurring negative thoughts which reached a psychotic level. The inquest heard he was known to discuss bad memories and text depressive thoughts to his family including a message saying: “I am dead inside, I just need my body to follow off Beachy Head”.

Mr Leng had driven to the cliff top just months before his death in an attempt to end his life. But that night police managed to convince him to return safely to his car. Following this incident he was checked into psychiatric hospital Mill View in Hove which he begged to leave. He was discharged and visited at his home by the SPT crisis team.

The inquest, held at Eastbourne Coroner’s Court, heard his mood changed dramatically.

During positive episodes he talked about his aspirations for the future, but when depressed, he expressed suicidal thoughts and would shout “Beachy Head” down the phone to his family.

His mood deteriorated when he lost his job as a graphic designer and put on weight due to his medication, the inquest heard.

In a statement read out in court his father, Phillip Leng, said: “I have heard the words Beachy Head thousands of times.

“It’s been 22 months of friends, family, doctors, psychiatrists trying to help him, but no one thought he would do it.

“It seemed he just persistently cried wolf.”

His father said after his son’s death, he realised he had planned his suicide in advance. The inquest heard Mr Leng had deleted his father from a tracking app on his phone before he died to make him “invisible”.

He found his son had submitted an “off-road” form to the DLVA to ensure his car could not be tracked.

The court heard he had also left a list of songs to be played at his funeral.

Senior coroner for East Sussex Alan Craze said: “The messages from him and the depression over the last two years of his life point towards suicide.

“I conclude Andrew Leng took his own life”.

In December last year friends of Mr Leng (pictured) organised a football tournament in his memory and to raise money for mental health charity Mind.