A retired vet suffocated his wife and then shot himself because

he was worried about financial problems and his health, an inquest heard.

The bodies of Peter Clarke, 72, and his wife Barbara, 73, were found at their £750,000 farmhouse in East Hoathly, near Hailsham, by their daughter on August 6 last year.

Carolyn Freeman ran next door to raise the alarm after finding her mother's body in a downstairs room with a gag made out of pyjama bottoms in her mouth, Neighbour John Scalley discovered the body of Mr Clarke lying in a pool of blood in an attic bedroom, next to a shotgun.

The Eastbourne inquest heard Mrs Freeman, of Smarden, Kent, had been worried when she heard her father had been depressed for a couple of days.

She said: "My father was a larger than life, totally cheerful and positive character.

"The only time I can remember him being down was in 1977 when his mother died.

"But he was brought up in a time when you did not show your emotions."

The couple had lived in the village for 36 years and were well known and respected.

In 1993, Mr Clarke retired as a partner from a successful veterinary practice in Uckfield which he had helped to set up. His wife was also a vet.

The Clarkes' eldest daughter, Nicola Howe, of Sheffield Park Farm, near Uckfield, said she had thought about taking her father's shotgun away because she was worried about him.

She said: "I thought he was showing some signs of depression and he agreed to see the doctor.

"My father was agitated, completely different to the man we'd known before."

The inquest heard the family GP had prescribed the herbal remedy St John's Wort to treat Mr Clarke's stress but had not thought he was seriously depressed.

Police believe no third party was involved in the deaths and a ballistics expert said the trigger on the gun was not faulty.

Summing up, Eastbourne coroner Alan Craze said: "I am quite satisfied nobody else was involved.

"The verdict of this inquest is that Mrs Clarke was unlawfully killed and that Mr Clarke committed suicide."