A FATHER-of-two shot himself in the head after a row with his wife.

Alan Mountifield, aged 50, pointed a .22 calibre revolver to his temple and shot himself after writing three notes to his children, a Bolton inquest was told.

Mr Mountfield, a redundant engineer, died instantly in the front room of his home in Roseneath Road, Daubhill, in August.

Police investigated but ruled out the involvement of a third party.

Acting coroner Simon Nelson was told Mr Mountifield, originally from Portsmouth, kept the gun in the house for years.

He was a former member of a gun club in Portsmouth and South Africa, were he had lived in the early 1980s.

The inquest was told that on the day of the shooting, Mr Mountifield and his wife, Dorothy, had been heard arguing about a pending divorce after 23 years of marriage.

Mr Mountifield was suffering from acute pain in his groin after suffering prostate problems.

Mrs Mountfield, a nurse, told the inquest her husband had mentioned on two separate occasions that he wanted to harm himself.

Mrs Mountifield said a gun shot woke her at 5am on August 29. The couple had been arguing before midnight about the divorce arrangements.

She ran downstairs and found her husband slumped in a chair with a wound to his temple and a gun in his lap.

She said: "He was still bleeding. I ran for the phone and called for an ambulance. He was still in his pyjamas and had a family portrait on his chest.

"He looked OK, but then the colour drained away from him. That's when I went hysterical and woke my son with my screams."

Three notes were left on the fireplace.

A Home Office pathologist said the wound appeared to have been self-inflicted, backed by forensic evidence.

Mr Nelson recorded a verdict that Mr Mountifield killed himself while the balance of his mind was adversly affected.

He said: "He lost his job three years ago and I accept this had knocked his confidence.

"He was also affected by severe pain and marital differences.

"He admitted he was going to harm himself.

"In hindsight, when one looks back on the words or actions, the pieces of the jigsaw fit together."