A dad took his own life after becoming convinced electrical devices were "listening to him".
Wayne Paul Galley died at a family member's house on Sycamore Drive in Skelmersdale on April 30, where he had been carrying out some rendering work.
An inquest into his death at The Landmark in Burnley, on Monday, heard how the 47-year-old builder had suffered a “massive mental breakdown” since the first lockdown last year, Lancs Live reports.
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Area Coroner Richard Taylor read a statement from Mr Galley’s wife of 21 years, Claire, who described how her husband believed coronavirus was a ploy to create "a new world order."
Mr Taylor said: “She says he believed Covid was the end of normal life and he had to protect his family by storing food.
“She had been trying to get him to see a psychiatrist. He hadn’t slept for five days.
“She says that during the first lockdown there was a significant change in his personality and he was obsessed that the government was trying to control everyone through Covid.
“He believed the virus was a ploy to get rid of a large percentage of the population so there could be a new world order.”
Mrs Galley told how her husband also believed that electrical devices in his house were “listening to him” and he thought people were “coming for him”.
He put extra locks on the windows and doors and he was becoming “more and more obsessed”.
“He said he was going to buy gold because there would be no money once the government had carried out this plan,” Mr Taylor added.
“The day he died he told his wife he didn’t need any help. She says she thought he had suffered a massive mental breakdown but she doesn’t know what pushed him over the edge.”
After hearing all the evidence, the coroner reported a narrative conclusion of suicide.
