Tributes have been paid to a "much loved" father-of-three at an inquest into his death.

Christopher Bridson died at the age of 33 in his Whitehaven home on Brakeside Gardens on December 4, 2018.

His sister Kelly Barratt paid tribute to him during the inquest at Cockermouth's coroner's court on Tuesday.

Mrs Barratt said: "He was very likeable, he never had a bad word to say about anyone, he was a good guy."

The inquest heard Mr Bridson was a mechanic and enjoyed the outdoors. Mrs Barratt said he enjoyed going camping and fishing with his children. She added her brother was "sometimes too nice" and people would go to him to get their cars fixed. However, in the months leading up to his death he "was in a bit of a dark place."

Coroner Kirsty Gomersal concluded Mr Bridson died by suicide.

The inquest heard Mr Bridson had gotten into financial difficulty and had fallen behind with his rent payments. However Mrs Barratt and their father David helped him pay the debt and Mrs Barratt was also assisting her brother in claiming benefits and with his work.

Mrs Barratt said: "I've been trying to sort him out to get his business on the go. He was flitting between places and I was constantly putting plans in action and he seemed keen to get things going."

Ms Gomersal heard that in September his family feared he would take his own life when he started making plans to re-home his dog when he fell behind on his rent payments. The inquest also heard Mr Bridson had started drinking more.

Mrs Barratt said: "He wasn't a drunk, he wasn't drinking at work and he wasn't causing any problem, he was a good guy." She said Mr Bridson would drink at home and "get a bit giddy" and then fall asleep. The inquest heard he smoked cannabis but that did not affect him as he was a functional user. Ms Gomersal also heard he had laughed off suggestions from his family that he had depression when they expressed concerns about his behaviour, in particular the fact he was sleeping a lot.

The night before his death, Mr Bridson had been babysitting at his sister's house until around 9pm. Later that evening he texted Mrs Barratt to wish her good night, but this was not seen as unusual behaviour.

A witness statement from Mr Bridson's former partner, Stacey Sharkey, was read out during the inquest. The pair had been together for ten years and had been separated for five.

The evening before Mr Bridson's death, she had contacted him about one of their sons. They got into an argument and Miss Sharkey said she thought Mr Bridson was drunk. Later on, their son went to his father's house and when Miss Sharkey went to Mr Bridson's address she found him drunk, crying on the sofa. Miss Sharkey said she was not concerned about this behaviour, as it was quite common for him to get emotional after having had a drink.

Just after midnight Mr Bridson texted his son: "Good-bye you all."

The following day, police made attempts to contact Mr Bridson after concerns were raised about his welfare.

Officers entered his home at around 9am, where he was found hanged.

A toxicology report carried out during the post-mortem, found he had consumed alcohol and cannabis at a social or recreational level that night.

Ms Gomersal said: "He was a much loved father, brother and son, generous with his talents and he was the type of man who would do anything for anybody. He was a family man and adored spending time with his children and nieces and nephews."

Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts can call the Samaritans for free on 116 123.