A retired Assistant Chief Constable took his own life after contracting coronavirus symptoms at the start of the pandemic, an inquest has heard.
Jim Webster, 58, was found dead in a chalet at the bottom of his garden after self-isolating there to protect his wife and children.
After quarantining himself in his chalet, Mr Webster was found dead there in Crackington Have, Bude, on the morning of April 1.
In a statement his son Max explained how his father had spoken with him at around 9.30pm the night before his death, saying he was going to watch Game of Thrones before going to sleep, making plans for another Zoom meeting in the morning.
Max said his father "did not have any mental health issues" before contracting what was believed to be the coronavirus, but since he had begun to self-isolate "he had become increasingly unstable - he had become paranoid, anxious, reclusive and at the best of his ability, given his situation, controlling".
"We were saying that throughout the week he had become unstable and this was the first time we had ever seen him behave like this.
"Of course, we have no idea the extent of his mental degradation."
Mr Webster, who had been the Assistant Chief Constable until his retirement, had returned from London to his home in Cornwall with coronavirus symptoms at the end of March, reports PlymouthLive.
Mr Webster had also been a commander with the Metropolitan Police as well as Chief Superintendent of Plymouth.
The inquest heard in a statement from his widow Maureen that he had developed a cough and fever.
He decided to quarantine to protect his wife and their grown-up children Max and Robyn.
Jim and Maureen had planned this course of action if either of them caught the coronavirus.
Throughout the quarantine, the inquest heard, the family held Zoom meetings and socially distanced meals.
But the family began to notice a deterioration in Jim's mental health.
Maureen said Jim "changed completely" during his isolation.
She said he became "paranoid and neurotic" and that a six-page note found at his bedside revealed how he struggled in the last days of his life.
She said he had begun to become paranoid about what the local community of Crackington Haven would think of him and the couple's standing in the community if one of them was seen out walking down at the nearby beach with their dog.
The night before his death the family had held a socially distanced supper together and during it Jim had tried to reassure the family that his "thinking was getting clearer and he would be out tomorrow", the eighth day of his isolation.
However, on the morning of April 1, Maureen found a signed pinned to the inside of the door saying "don't come in, phone the police".
Jim was tragically declared dead at the scene by an ambulance crew.
Maureen said: "I believe that Jimbo, in his right mind, would not take his own life.
"He had spoken so much over the years, given his experiences as a copper, about the devastation left behind when someone commits suicide.
"It's just unthinkable that this would be his intention - however, there is no denying the fact.
"I think it was a perfect storm. The psychological effect of the Covid-19 environment - media, fear, lack of control - as he went into his self-isolation, and possibly the neurological effect of Covid-19 found in a small sample of Covid-19 deaths."
After retiring in 2011 Jim joined the board of the NHS and worked with the Foreign Office around the world.
He set up a gig-rowing club for Crackington Haven.
He joined the police at 18 working for the Metropolitan Police, then as head of CID in Exeter and as Plymouth Police Commander before returning to the Metropolitan Police for a promotion.
The coroner concluded he had taken his own life following eight days of self-isolation.
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