A TEENAGER struggling to cope with being discharged from the army and the breakdown of a relationship was found hanged near his home in Woodley, an inquest heard.

George Cheese, formerly of Kingfisher Drive, pursued a career as an engineer with the Armed Forces before suffering a stress fracture in both of his legs.

The 18-year-old agreed to a three-year apprenticeship with the Audi garage in Reading and documented a series of incidents on his iPhone, including being locked in a cage and being made to walk a mile to work after his colleagues left him in the rain.

After having a breakdown at college and another while on a First Aid course, Mr Cheese was given anti-depressant medication, but a post-mortem determined he had not been taking the tablets for at least a fortnight before he died.

He punched a wall when he discovered his former partner Chloe had a new boyfriend and he sent her a message before he died to tell her he had had enough.

On April 9 2015, when George Cheese had worked for Audi for more than six months he was seen leaving the family home.

Keith Cheese, his father, told the inquest he and his wife Purdy heard ambulance sirens in front of their home shortly after.

They rushed outside to find their son had hanged himself from a tree, close to a public footpath.

Keith told the coroner that he would never forgive himself for missing the warning signs leading to his son’s death.

The evening before his death, George had been pacing around the house, saying “I have to quit, I can’t go back there” over and over again.

Having told his son not to resign from his job and that things would get better, the father said he now realised how “ridiculous” this response was.

George’s mother said she had been aware of the decline in her son’s mental health for several months and she had been able to ensure he took his medication until the final few days of his life, when she had fallen ill.

"We do not want Chloe to be blamed at all. She was such a nice girl and she was the love of his life," she said.

As well as suffering from anxiety, George - a smoker - had a fascination with his health and believed he was suffering from lung cancer, which was never proven.

Peter Beford, senior coroner for Berkshire, recorded a verdict of suicide.

He added: "There was a spectrum of reasons behind George's tragic actions. I refuse to record that negligence, on the part of the Audi garage, was to blame and likewise the mental health team dealing with his case had no reason to believe he presented an immediate risk.

"What is clear to me is that George was a young man who was suffering with a wide range of problems and the accumulation of his ill-health, the breakdown of the relationship with Chloe, his discharge from the army and his inability to cope with the constant pranks at work combined to cause his death."

The three-day trial at Reading Town Hall heard evidence from the current manager of the garage, Terry Kindeleit, who claimed most of the workplace incidents were considered banter and horseplay.

He went onto say how anything extreme was handled immediately, with one of George's colleagues receiving disciplinary for setting his trousers on fire to see how fire-resistant they were.