Guillotine used for suicide

COLIN VINCENT planned his death with the same care and devotion he had used to look after his sick wife for four years, an inquest was told yesterday.

Two months after she died from bowel cancer, Mr Vincent killed himself with a full-sized guillotine he had built and tested in his shed. The blade alone measured 10 feet wide. A spirit level to ensure it was true was found next to his body after he died on October 13.

The West Yorkshire coroner, Mark Hinchcliffe, ruled that Mr Vincent, 57, had committed suicide, having been left "heart-broken" by his wife's death in August. "I can only hope that this story of love and devotion will not be forgotten in the drama of the cause of death," he said.

The inquest was told Mr Vincent, a handyman from Halifax, fell into a deep depression after his wife's death and often spoke of killing himself.