A NETHERTON man who was jailed for life for brutally killing his wife with a hammer committed suicide in prison, an inquest heard.

Paul Abbott, aged 57, was jailed in July 2016 after he admitted murdering 54-year-old Jackie Abbott at their Lodge Crescent home on December 11, 2015.

Exactly 12 months after he "flipped" and rained blows on his wife's head with a hammer, Abbott, who was told he would serve a minimum of 15 years behind bars, was found dead at HMP Long Lartin in Evesham.

Police were called to the prison on December 11 2016 at 11.40am, however they did not treat the prolific gambler's death as suspicious.

Following an inquest at Worcestershire Coroners Court last week, a jury concluded Abbott had committed suicide.

A report, outlining the findings of an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman is expected to be made public shortly.

Shortly before her death, Mrs Abbott had discovered her husband had gambled away £11,500 within two days and he had refused to pay her wages at the former J and P Tackle, on the Enterprise Trading Estate, Brierley Hill, where they had worked with their sons Martyn and Ryan.

Mrs Abbott had gone to stay with a close friend in Ipswich and while she was gone, Abbott continued gambling and chalking up further debts.

When she returned to the family home, Mrs Abbott, who had made the decision to leave her husband, planned to attend an Elvis Presley tribute concert and she had made it clear that she did not want Abbott to go with her.

The couple then got into an argument and Abbott had told police officers after his arrest that she had slapped his face.

It was then that he picked up the hammer, adding: "I lost the plot. My head had gone, I don't know why I flipped.

"No one deserves that, I wouldn't do that to a dog. It was despicable, I lost control like a wild dog."