A man who could not cope on his own following his wife's death visited her grave before he was struck by a train, an inquest heard.

Terence Reeve was dependent on his wife Anne and wanted to join her after she died, yesterday's Norwich inquest was told.

The 76-year-old was struck by the London Liverpool Street to Norwich train near the level crossing at Newton Flotman, just after 10am on September 6 last year.

Maureen Harris, a friend of Mr Reeve's and his late wife, who died of cancer that April, told the inquest that he had been talking about wanting to join her in the last week of his life.

Mr Reeve, from St Mary's Close, Newton Flotman, had also just undergone a hernia operation and did not feel that he would ever get better, she said.

'He was very dependent on his wife and she did everything for him. At first he did an awful lot of cycling and pulled himself round, but he got a hernia, and he could not cycle any more.

'He did not recover from the operation and he did not think he would get better.

'The loss of his wife had a very devastating effect on him.

'And then he was impacted by the operation that quickly followed.'

Asked if he intended to kill himself, she said 'Yes' and added: 'On the day he died he visited his wife's grave in the morning. He then went straight to the railway line.'

The jury returned a suicide verdict.

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