A father who bled to death two days before a murder trial maintained he did not kill his daughter.

Tony Couchman was found in his cell at HMP Lewes on January 2, last year.

A post mortem showed he had slashed major veins in his right arm with razor blades.

On January 4 he was due to stand trial accused of murdering his 19-year-old daughter Victoria Couchman, whose remains were found in woodland close to the family home.

An inquest at Eastbourne Coroner’s Court heard how the 46-year-old confided in another inmate that he was nervous about the trial even though he denied killing Vicky.

Andrew Clark, a prison officer on M-ward where ‘vulnerable’ inmates are housed, said although Mr Couchman appeared ‘quiet’ and ‘withdrawn’ on the day before he died he was not placed on suicide watch.

Officer Clark unlocked Couchman’s door at 10.15am but didn’t go inside because he could see through the hatch that he was lying on his bed.

At around 11.25am a ‘commotion’ was heard outside the cell and Mr Couchman was seen lying face down on bloodied sheets.

Prison Officer Heather Bryant turned him over and saw that a razor blade was found sticking out of his chest and he had lacerations to his arms.

Despite attempts at CPR by both prison staff and paramedics he was declared dead at 11.50am.

Nurse Caroline Brown said she believed he had been dead for several hours.

Officer Clark said he and Mr Couchman had several conversations about the trial.

Mr Clark said: "He did discuss the case. He was saying he was innocent.

“In all my discussions with him, he said that he was innocent and that he wanted to have a trial."

When Mr Couchman initially arrived at Lewes he had been placed under regular supervision under the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) system for prisoners deemed at risk of suicide or self-harm.

But he was not being monitored under the ACCT system at the time of his death.