A POLICE inspector hanged himself after reportedly having an affair when struggling to cope with pressures of his job, an inquest has heard.

Paul Davey was found at his Horsham flat on March 27 after his wife of 20 years, Laura Davey, called police for help when she could not get in touch with him.

The 43-year-old Met Police inspector was promoted to head of London’s violent crime taskforce, but began to show signs of burnout in 2019, Mrs Davey told the inquest.

She said it was around this time that her husband started having an affair and “did not feel like his usual self”, the Daily Mail reports.

The inquest hearing at West Sussex Coroner’s Court was told that as the stress of the Croydon-based role began to take its toll, Mr Davey began to express suicidal thoughts.

According to Mrs Davey, her husband was diagnosed with depression and anxiety due to his work and his relationship difficulties and was judged to be high risk.

The hearing was told Mr Davey referred himself for talking therapy.

The inquest heard that after a long period of sick leave, he was able to return to work and discharged himself from some of the support services he was receiving.

And after lengthy discussions with his wife, he decided to move out of the family home in April 2020, leaving behind his two daughters.

Mrs Davey said that her husband had been active on WhatsApp on March 26, but she could not get in contact with him after 7.03am the following morning.

She called police who broke their way into his flat and found him.

The coroner heard that Mr Davey had left notes for his family and friends at his house, the Daily Mail reports.

A post-mortem examination carried out by Dr Mark Whittaker concluded that Mr Davey had died by hanging.

The coroner concluded that Mr Davey took his own life.