A HOMELESS man who had threatened to kill himself was hit by a car after he lay down in the road, an inquest heard.

Sean Joseph Doyle, 41, was killed instantly when a taxi ran over him in High East Street, Dorchester, after its driver saw him too late to be able to stop.

The inquest heard that Mr Doyle, who had been homeless since moving out of Melcombe House in Lennox Street, Weymouth, had been found half clothed and covered in blood at the Nothe Gardens, four days before his death.

PC Yvonne Bevan said that he was cowering in bushes, claiming to hear voices and saying that he did not deserve to live and wanted to die.

She took Mr Doyle to Forston Clinic, near Dorchester, where he was signed in as a voluntary patient, but three days later, on September 20 last year, staff contacted police to take him away again, claiming that he had been aggressive and asked for 'inappropriate drugs'.

A delivery driver had also reported seeing him in a road near the clinic, standing in front of his car with his arms out, 'staring wildly'.

PC Craig Daniels told the inquest that he took Mr Doyle back to Dorchester police station and found him some clothes, but could not find him anywhere to stay, and instead drove him to Weymouth.

At 10.30 that evening, Dorchester police were informed that Mr Doyle had just been pulled out of Weymouth harbour and taken to Dorset County Hospital.

PC Craig Daniels and Sergeant Steve Bullock said they tried to persuade the clinic to take Mr Doyle back in, but were refused, and PC Daniels took him back to Dorchester, where he used his own money to dry Mr Doyle's clothes in the launderette in High East Street.

PC Daniels said: "The clinic said he wasn't sectionable and that he had been aggressive towards them.

"But he was very docile with us - pathetic in the truest sense of the word."

PC Daniels told the inquest that he had been called away to help look for an escaped prisoner and had to leave Mr Doyle in the launderette. He said he had checked that he was still there while driving by, but at 1.40am a call came in from Ian Koenig, who lived nearby and heard the accident, to say that a man had been run over.

Taxi driver Brian Oak, who has been driving for 40 years, was returning from a fare in Taunton when the accident happened. He said: "I saw a dark shape on the ground, but there were parked cars on one side and another car coming the other way.

"At the last minute I saw the shape move, but it was too late to do anything."

PC Andrew Boardman of the Dorset road policing unit told the inquest that visibility on the road was poor that night, due to light from shop windows on parked cars creating shadows on the road.

Former Dorchester police sergeant Steve Bullock criticised the clinic, which told police Mr Doyle was simply 'an attention seeker', when he came to give evidence.

He said: "I recall saying to the staff at Forston, 'How seriously are you taking his threats to kill himself?' They said it was about a 50/50 chance, but that wasn't sufficient to take him in.

"I was very angry - I felt that our opinion, that he needed to be taken to a place of safety, was being ignored and they thought they knew better. In this case, our fears were realised."

Toxicologist Dr Peter Astley said there were no drugs or alcohol in Mr Doyle's body and West Dorset Coroner Michael Johnston recorded an open verdict after hearing that there was no conclusive proof, such as a note, that he intended to kill himself.