Two neighbours battled in vain to extinguish a garage fire which killed their friend and neighbour, 57-year-old Terence Keith Jones, an inquest heard on Thursday.

Mr Jones, of Ciliau West, Llanwnda, had worked in the police force, then as a firefighter and later as a private fire officer until 1994. He then spent time in prison and in a mental health institution for the manslaughter of his first wife.

He had a history of mental health problems and depression had attempted suicide on more than one occasion.

Mr Jones remarried and moved to Ciliau West, near Goodwick, with his wife Pam, telling neighbours that it was his dream to live there.

The couple separated in 2008 and Mr Jones' mental health seemed to deteriorate. He had regular appointments with the mental health team and saw them several times in the week before his death.

On the evening of November 8th 2009 Mr Jones' neighbour, Christopher Green, was putting out the rubbish when he smelled burning and heard banging and popping.

He set off down the lane to investigate and met his other neighbour, Raymond Loveless. They noticed that Mr Jones' car was not in its usual place and his gate was chained, they could see smoke coming from the garage and the yard.

When they got to the garage, the doors seemed locked from the inside, the men managed to kick them open by a few inches and spray a fire extinguisher into the thick smoke.

Both men were sure Mr Jones was in the shed. They shouted his name but there was no response.

They managed to connect a hose pipe and spray that into the shed, clearing the smoke enough to see that a roll of carpet had been placed along the bottom of the doors and a wooden plank screwed onto the doors, bracing them shut.

The smoke was so thick they couldn't breathe. Mr Loveless ran back to his house to get diving breathing apparatus and doused himself in water in preparation to go back into the garage. At that point Fishguard firefighters arrived on the scene.

They found a badly burnt out Rover 600 in the shed with a body in the passenger seat. The charred remains of a bible were in the car, along with some shards of picture frame glass and an aerosol nozzle. The aerosol can, which had contained brake and clutch cleaner, was found next to the vehicle.A hose was running from the exhaust of the vehicle to the driver's side.

Coroner's officer Jeremy Davies said that a note written by Mr Jones was found on the premises which showed a clear intention to take his own life. However, it was not dated and, as Mr Jones had attempted suicide before, the note could not be directly connected with this incident.

A fire service report said that the exact cause of the fire, which had started in a passenger side of the vehicle, could not be determined It noted that the brake cleaner found near the vehicle could have been used as an accelerant.

Mr Jones was identified from his dental records on November 10th. A post mortem report said that he had died as a result of severe burns. Pembrokeshire Coroner, Mark Layton, concluded that he died of self-administered burns.