DEPRESSED Zbigniew Lazurek made sure he ended 15 years of agony when he disappeared from home.

The 50-year-old artist's body was pulled from a Radcliffe lodge after it floated to the surface, despite being weighed down with a heavy cobbler's file, a large spanner and a padlock and chain.

A post mortem examination also revealed that the bachelor had slashed his wrist, severing an artery, and stabbed himself five times in the chest, puncturing a lung and cutting into his heart.

He had also taken a normally lethal dose of morphine before falling or jumping into Withins Lodge, off Brooksbottom Road, Radcliffe.

The grizzly discovery was made by two boys who were fishing at the lodge on February 16, nearly a month after Mr Lazurek vanished from his Peers Street home in Bury. He had said in a letter he was going to drown himself. An inquest in Bury on Tuesday (April 24) heard how Mr Lazurek had been in agony for the past 15 years, due to a mouth ulcer which had exposed nerve endings.

His sister, Mrs Donna Thompson, said that in 1985, her brother had a cyst removed from inside his mouth. It returned and was surgically removed again.

She said: "He started suffering pain from the scar tissue and sought medical help but the problem became worse. It affected his sleeping and socialising and the pain became more acute.

"He was endeavouring to limit the extent of this pain by having his front teeth removed or filed down so they were clear of the lower lip."

However, Mr Lazurek became depressed after continuing to suffer excruciating pain. He had warned that he wanted to get a gun and "blow his brains out".

Shortly before his disappearance on January 12, Mr Lazurek visited a number of friends and re-iterated his intention to end his pain by committing suicide.

After he disappeared, police launched a search and a number of lodges near his home were checked by officers from the underwater search unit.

But the inquest heard that, although Mr Lazurek was last seen on January 12, he returned to his home five days later to use his computer and collect the heavy cobbler's file.

Pathologist Dr Charles Wilson said he was unable to ascertain the exact cause of death.

He said: "Mr Lazurek may have drowned but I can't prove it because of the level of the body's decomposition.

"The wounds to the heart and wrist would have proved fatal due to the loss of blood. He also had a toxic level of morphine that is normally associated with fatalities.

"He also had heart disease and could have had heart failure as a result of losing blood. The sudden emersion in the water could have also triggered a fatal heart attack."

Recording a verdict of suicide, Coroner Mr Barrie Williams said: "Most significant is the discovery of the body with weights round his neck and in his pocket which were applied by the deceased to ensure continuous immersion over a long period of time.

"There was no third party involvement, just sure determination by Mr Lazurek, irrespective of the note he left, that he intended his actions to be fatal."