Country sports agent William Bond killed himself with the shotgun that he often used out shooting, an inquest heard.

Shooting was one of his main passions in life, the inquest was told.

Mr Bond, 33, who had recently moved to Ogbourne St Andrew from London, shot himself while suffering from depression and stress .

Mr Bond had moved to Wiltshire to take up a new job arranging corporate fishing trips for a country sports agency.

Deputy coroner Nigel Brookes heard that Mr Bond had had trouble adjusting to the stress levels of his new job, and had been seeing a counsellor.

Carolyn Bond, who described her husband as "quiet, kind and thoughtful", said that he would often work 12 hours a day and the job involved travelling about six weeks every year.

Mr Bond told his counsellor that he was feeling anxious, stressed and depressed. He was finding it difficult to adjust to his new job and had suffered a loss of confidence in himself.

Counsellor Peter Buxton said: "There was an undercurrent of desperation, he wanted to stop feeling so low and was bewildered as to why he was feeling like that because he had always been very enthusiastic about life."

In September last year Mr Bond suffered cuts, bruising, concussion and broken ribs after crashing his car into a tree on the A4 between Marlborough and Hungerford.

Two weeks later, after going to visit a neighbour's new puppy and spending a happy evening with his wife talking about plans for Christmas, Mr Bond woke up early, went into the spare bedroom and shot himself in the head.

Mrs Bond said: "I was woken up by a bang, and I didn't know what it was.

"I went downstairs, let the dogs out and then called for William. I couldn't find him so I went upstairs and that is when I saw him lying in the spare room."

Builders working on a house opposite heard Mrs Bond's screams and stayed with her until the police and ambulance arrived.

Mr Bond was certified dead at the scene and police later found a suicide note tucked in the pocket of his trousers.

The coroner concluded that Mr Bond had killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed.