Man drove 200 miles to kill himself on Dartmoor

A MAN who drove 200 miles to commit suicide on Dartmoor printed off notices warning passers-by  against the dangers of carbon monoxide emanating from his car.

An inquest heard how David Grant planned his own death with extraordinary precision and left A4-size sheets on the vehicle asking anyone passing not to open the doors nor to sit inside because of the gas.

The 40-year-old from London who worked as a parts-man for Volkswagen and Audi, was suffering from work-related stress which had been getting worse in the months before his death.

Mr Grant, who was single, was found on the passenger seat of his green D-reg Volkswagen Golf at Bone Hill Rocks car park near Widecombe-in-the-Moor on February 21.

Members of the public discovered the car and opened the doors to get rid off the fumes which had built up inside.

Police officers were later called out to the scene and discovered a plastic tube had been fitted to the exhaust pipe and was feeding fumes through the car window.

Police removed Mr Grant from the car. An ambulance crew later tried to resuscitate him but pronounced him dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination later confirmed Mr Grant died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The inquest heard  Mr Grant had sealed the windows of his car with black tape and warning signs had been  stuck to the windows.

Returning a suicide verdict, Torbay and South Devon Coroner Ian Arrow said: “I am satisfied that Mr Grant planned this with expertise. The notices he had prepared were designed to be found by others after his death.”