A BURMESE man living in Sedgemoor told a friend “my time is up” before hanging himself days later, an inquest heard.

Michael Nyi-Nyi, aged 70, was found dead at his home in Kingsway Road, Burnham, on January 28.

He was discovered by police, who forced entry to his home after being called by concerned neighbour Lee Skillett.

Mr Skillett told Thursday's inquest at Bridgwater town hall: “He lived on his own and I felt I should keep an eye on him.

“He would put the light on to let us know he was there but we got home that evening and the lights were off.”

Peter Shepherd, of Love Lane, Burnham, said Mr Nyi-Nyi, a friend of 18 years, had told him he “would soon be gone” and that his “time was up”.

Mr Shepherd said Mr Nyi-Nyi was a “very private man”, whose life had turned for the worse after a stroke two years earlier.

The inquest heard Mr Nyi-Nyi fled to the UK from Burma aged 15 after the Second World War and ended up in Cardiff.

After graduating from university, he held a number of senior positions in the aerospace industry, and was one of the people who signed off Concorde and the VC10 airliner.

Recording a verdict that Mr Nyi-Nyi took his own life, West Somerset Coroner Michael Rose said: “This is a sad case.

“He had no one close to home. It's a pity but it's difficult for a stranger in another country.

“He had good neighbours and they kept an eye on him. Had they not, this could have been a case of a body laying long before someone realised it was there.”