A 25-year-old father found hanged in woods in New Addington committed suicide because he felt his family would be better off without him, an inquest heard.

Peter Mildon, who has a three-year-old daughter, was found hanged from a tree branch on Spout Hill just a month before Christmas, on November 24.

The painter and decorator, from Euston Road, was reported missing by his concerned parents after his mother Diane became worried by his “strange” behaviour.

His girlfriend of six years Erica Heglan, told police he liked to go camping near Addington Palace.

They found the 25-year-old next to camping gear and an empty bottle of vodka at the scene. Police said there was nothing suspicious about the death.

Coroner, Dr Roy Palmer, said: “There is no doubt he intended to take his own life.

“I am sorry you lost your son, brother and loved one in this sad way.”

Barry Mildon, Peter’s father, said his son had been very unhappy in the last year of his life.

He got in trouble with the police and was worried he might go to prison.

He said: “In August 2008 he started to take heroin to cope with his living situation.

“His partner had moved back to New Addington, she felt unsafe where she was living because she had been attacked outside her home.”

Peter, who was well-known as DJ Spi on the South London club circuit, started to drink to block things out, which made him more depressed.

The inquest heard he was drinking up to 14 units of vodka and using “quite a bit of heroin” every day. He had been using a variety of drugs since the age of 13.

Shortly before his death, he started a drug treatment programme and was prescribed methadone to help kick his addiction.

In a report, Dr Sally Porter said Peter appeared cheerful at the beginning of November and was talking about the Christmas presents he would buy his daughter.

“He said he was starting a new job the next week and wanted to stop using drugs. He was going to focus on his family and his job," she said.

“He managed to abstain from heroin over the weekend.”

However he missed his next appointment on November 13.

Just before his death he told this parents he had done things he was not proud of and “he had gone too far to put things right”.

He felt his girlfriend and his little daughter would be better off without him.

After the inquest, the devastated family paid tribute to the caring father.

His father said: “We are a close knit family, it has been very hard without him. We miss him so much.”

His mother Diane added: “It is so difficult, I just don’t know why he thought he could not come and talk to us about what he was going through.”

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