A father said he wanted to highlight the positives of his 21-year-old son's life after an inquest heard he had committed suicide.

Yesterday'sNorwich inquest was told that Christopher Robinson's family was unaware that he had been suffering from depression, before he killed himself on August 1.

After the inquest, Christopher's father Alan Robinson, from Gresham, near Holt, said: 'He was a loving, caring son, who was very much aware of other people's feelings. He tried to help others.

'From the comments of friends at his funeral, which was very well attended, he was seen as a fun guy. No-one can make any sense of what happened. He was soon going on holiday with a group of friends to Turkey.

'As the inquest heard, to all intents and purposes he was a fun-loving person. But we would like to highlight the positive side of Christopher. When someone hears about suicide, they think of the dark side of things. But Christopher brought a light to everyone he came into contact with.'

The 21-year-old, who was a former Sheringham High School pupil, lived with his brother Anthony in New Street, Cromer, and Anthony told the inquest that his brother went to a pub on July 31. In the morning Anthony went to wake his brother, who told him that he would not be working as he felt unwell. But when Anthony returned to the flat at lunch-time he found that his brother had hanged himself.

Anthony said that Christopher, who was a construction worker, had lived with him for about a year, but he was unaware of any problems he had with depression.

However, the inquest heard that Christopher had sought help from his GP in Cromer two years before, when he had been suffering from depression.

Norfolk coroner William Armstrong read out a statement stating that he visited the doctor in February 2010. The report said that he had been in a low mood for the previous three years, was angry, and had suicidal thoughts. He was put on a mild dosage of anti-depressants in March 2010, but there was no record of Christopher suffering from depression after about July 2010.

Mr Armstrong recorded a verdict of suicide and said: 'This tragedy is puzzling to everyone. To all intents and purposes Christopher was a person without any problems, and not someone minded to bring his life to an end, despite suffering from depression about two years before.

'He was a good, caring, loving person, who was well-loved by his family and well-liked by his friends. Maybe in his soul he did not have the same high opinion of himself, as everyone else had. This is an awful tragedy, but I hope the family can now move on to a certain extent.'

david.bale2@archant.co.uk