A PRIVATE investigator still working in his seventies drove from his home in Flintshire to an East Yorkshire beauty spot to take his own life.

The body of 76-year-old Arthur Price was found at the bottom of cliffs beneath a lighthouse and cafe in the resort of Flamborough on October 29 last year, an inquest at Ruthin County Hall heard today (Monday, September 28).

He was naked and his skull had sustained catastrophic injuries.

Later, police found his clothes, jeans, shorts, top, and shoes, at the top of the cliffs nearby. In the pocket police found items, including a driving licence, that enabled them to ascertain the body was that of Arthur Price, of St Johns's Close, Hawkesbury Road, Buckley.

The inquest heard that Mr Price had driven from Buckley to Flamborough in his Nissan Juke, which police found in a nearby carpark.

Mr Price's body was found by HGV driver Richard Bowyer who was staying in a nearby caravan in Thornwick Bay with his family.

He had taken a walk to the lighthouse and, after walking down to the beach, he saw what he thought at first was a "oddly shaped rock".

When he got close he could see that it was a naked body. He had no signal on his phone so he went to the cafe sighted next to the lighthouse where a member of staff called police.

He was about to walk back to his caravan but, on seeing a group of young people heading towards the bottom of the cliffs, he rushed to stop them and waited until the police, paramedics and coastguard arrived.

The inquest heard a statement from PC David Downes of East Yorkshire Police who was shown the location of Mr Price's body by Mr Bowyer.

The police officer said it was clear the body had been in the sea at some stage and there was no blood visible.

This was echoed by specialist paramedic Andrew Tolley.

The post-mortem found that Mr Price had died as a result of multiple traumatic injuries sustained in a fall from height.

The cliffs are about 50m in height.

In a statement from his son, Mark, the inquest heard that Mr Price had been suffering financial difficulties and had been depressed since the death of his second wife in 2015.

Evidence from Flintshire County Council's housing services confirmed that Mr Price had not been paying his rent and a notice seeking possession of the property due to rent arrears of less than £1,000 had been issued.

In a letter to his family, Mr Price told them the financial troubles had "completely overwhelmed" him and he had "decided to go to a better place".

Assistant Coroner for North East Wales, Elizabeth Dudley-Jones recorded a verdict of suicide.

She told the inquest that she has arrived at the verdict not only by the balance of probability but also the higher standard of beyond reasonable doubt.