A LITHUANIAN abattoir worker hanged himself after feeling homesick and paranoid, an inquest has heard.

Police confirmed they had taken Sarunas Grigas, who was living in Nelson, home after being called by a taxi driver who became concerned when he saw the 24-year-old near a bridge over the Leeds Liverpool Canal staring into the water.

Det insp Jim Elston told the inquest officers took him back to Rupert Street Street on March 11 after confirming he had no ‘self harm thoughts’. But hours later, his body was discovered in Hard Platts by a dog walker.

Richard Taylor, senior coroner for East Lancashire, read a statement to Burnley Magistrates Court from Mr Grigas’s friend Vaida Kazenaite, who he had been living with at the time. She said Mr Grigas had been in the UK for more than two years before his death.

Mr Taylor, reading her statement, said: “Sarunas had come to find work to make money. His plan was to return to Lithuania once he had made enough money to set up his own business.

“He did not seem to like it. He missed his family and friends. He was looking forward to going home in April.

“He said he was a frequent user of cannabis, but he stopped using it because it was making him feel bad.

“He said to me something was telling him to do something and he could not control it. He thought aliens were trying to take him.

“I knew he was not happy.”

She added Mr Grigas had been suspended from work and when he returned, things became worse for him.

After the police brought him home, Ms Kazenaite and Mr Grigas’s brother Tomas, who had come to visit, discussed the situation. She said she believed Mr Grigas overheard the conversation and then left the house.

Mr Taylor said: “The conclusion I will return is that Mr Grigas took his own life.”