A police chief under investigation over allegations he sexually harassed female colleagues took his own life, a coroner ruled today.

David Ainsworth, 49, deputy chief constable of Wiltshire Police, hanged himself in his garage fearing he would "lose everything" and believing his family would be better off without him if he took his own life.

The £110,000-a-year officer had been removed from his duties and later placed on secondment after a series of complaints were made against him.

Mr Ainsworth was determined to clear his name but felt he was being treated as a "pariah" by the Wiltshire force, the three-day inquest at Trowbridge Town Hall heard.

David Ridley, coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, recorded a verdict that the high ranking officer had taken his own life.

"On the evidence I consider that the appropriate conclusion to record here is that David Ainsworth took his own life while suffering from depression," he said.