A father who took his own life two days before he was due to be tried for murder, insisted he had not killed his daughter.

Tony Couchman was found in a pool of his own blood in his cell at HMP Lewes on January 2, last year.

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.

Despite being on a ward for vulnerable inmates, Couchman was not on suicide watch, an inquest into his death was told yesterday.

The 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.

Prison officer Andrew Clark said he and Couchman had several conversations about the trial and was hopeful new evidence would help him.

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 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.

Officers said he had made “a group of friends” at the prison and was a “bright, polite man who mixed well with other prisoners and other staff”.

Miss Couchman's mother, Fiona Masters, who was estranged from Couchman, questioned: "If his trial was due to start in two days why wasn't he watched more carefully? He was under a lot of pressure."

When Sussex Police carried out an examination of his cell after his death they found two razor blades, a metal hook attached to an air vent and three ligatures in a cupboard.

A post-mortem revealed he bled to death from a right arm wound. There was 125mg of alcohol in his blood which prison staff say he is likely to have brewed himself.

The inquest continues.