A man in his 50s who lived a life of "voluntary social isolation" was found dead in his home after his employer raised concerns for his welfare, a court has heard.

James Kendall, who was 51, died on January 23 at his flat in Hall Road, Norwich.

An inquest, held on Monday, heard that in the period leading up to his death Mr Kendall had become distant to his family, but had reached out to some members in the final weeks of his life.

In a statement read to the court, his brother Jonathan said: "It is difficult to provide details as he had voluntarily made himself socially isolated.

"At the end of the day, I will never know what he was thinking at the time - but I wish I did."

The court heard Mr Kendall worked as a video editor and producer for a Bracondale-based company called Key Audio Visual.

In a statement, Trevor Evans from the firm, said he had raised the alarm after Mr Kendall had been away from work for a number of days without contacting colleagues.

He described Mr Kendall as being "a quiet man who kept himself to himself" and that a colleague had last spoken to him four days before he was discovered - when he had described "dark thoughts" related to the death of a close friend.

After attempts to contact Mr Kendall were fruitless, Mr Evans phoned the police who attended his home and found him unresponsive inside.

Jacqueline Lake, senior coroner for Norfolk, gave an open conclusion, due to levels of alcohol found in his system potentially having clouded his judgement.

The medical cause of his death was given as hanging.

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