A FATHER who never recovered after seeing his young son viciously mauled by a dog hanged himself, an inquest heard.

Terry Davenport, who was 43, suffered severe post traumatic stress disorder after holding his five-year-old son’s injured face together in his lap while driving him to hospital several years ago.

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The tragic incident left Mr Davenport – who was separated from the mother of his children and lived alone – scarred for life and pleading for the authorities to help him.

The hod carrier, from Nashe Way in Fareham, was found hanged at his sister Wendy’s home in Triumph Close, also in Fareham, last March.

Depression His mother, Irene Davenport, told the inquest in Portsmouth her son suffered badly with depression and post traumatic stress disorder after witnessing the terrible injuries his son sustained.

She said he had asked to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act, but was told he was not eligible.

Just two weeks before he died, Wendy accompanied Mr Davenport when he visited Fareham’s Osborn Centre for psychiatric treatment and begged to be sectioned.

He was refused because he was under the influence of alcohol.

Mrs Davenport said: “Terry was from a big family – he was one of seven children, and he had six children himself. All of a sudden he was on his own and he got lower and lower.

“The dog attack on his son had such an effect on him, he never overcame it.”

She said he also turned to drink. “The lower he got, the more he drank, and the more he drank, the lower he got,” she said.

Pathologist Mark Whittaker carried out a post-mortem and concluded that the cause of Mr Davenport’s death was hanging.

He also found he was four times over the legal limit to drink and drive at the time of his death.

Wendy Davenport told the inquest her brother had been drinking cider.

The inquest heard that Mr Davenport hanged himself during a 30-minute time slot when nobody was home, but he knew Wendy was due home. She, in fact, returned slightly later than expected.

Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Coroner David Horsley said: “I think he was expecting someone to come back and find him sooner than they did.

“Obviously, he was in torment. He saw this as a way of forcing the authorities to take notice. It’s most likely he was crying for help.”

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.