A MAN who hanged himself at a golf course was suffering from depression after he was the victim of two "life-changing" armed robberies.

An inquest in Heywood heard on Thursday that Philip Christie, aged 47, had been found dead in a secluded part of Bury Golf Club on October 27 last year, having been missing for almost two months.

Mr Christie, of Shepherd Street, Greenmount, had been violently assaulted and held up at gun point during incidents in 2000 and 2001.

The Bury Times previously reported that he had been threatened while working at a Deep Pan Pizza restaurant in Belle Vue.

His father, Keith, told the court that his son was a “very quiet, withdrawn introvert and at the same time both kind and generous”, but was never the same person after those events. Since then, he had suffered on and off with depression and paranoia.

A police appeal was launched to find Mr Christie after he went missing on September 1.

In a tribute, his family said: “Words are few, thoughts are deep, memories of you we will always keep. Love from mum, dad, Paul, Hayden, Thomas, Julie, Steven, Chantelle, Jake, Cristina, Inesh, and Sophia.”

Coroner Simon Nelson added that an accumulation of financial difficulties weighed heavily on Mr Christie’s mind, and that he did not wish to burden his family with those problems.

Mr Christie had attended St Stephen's Primary School and Derby High School in Bury and then spent two years studying at Peel College. He also studied at Keele and Aston universities.

He worked at the Prinovis printing press in Liverpool and had most recently been employed in a pub.

His girlfriend Cristina Maio, who he had met last February, told the inquest that his insecurity and depression were down to the fact that he could not find a job.

His parents said they were not aware of any previous incidents of self-harm and that Mr Christie had once promised that he would never take his own life.

Mr Nelson said: “The implication, given the position that Mr Christie was found in when he was sadly discovered on October 27 and how he would have come to be in that position, is that it can only have been by reason of his own doing.

“Sadly, what I have before me is a long-standing history of depression and paranoia which was initially treated but was never finally resolved.”

He added: “He was never able to come to terms with the consequences, complications, and the illness arising from the episodes in 2000 and 2001. They were life-changing.

“I have no doubt that he had a very supportive family and extended family network that he could and did approach for assistance and were there for him.

“The conclusion of this inquiry is that he took his own life while suffering from a depressive illness.”

Mr Nelson told the family: “This is one of those scenarios where one or two events have changed the course of a person’s life and I’m sorry that it has affected you and Philip in this way and I extend my sincere condolences to you.”