by Jack Abell
A RETIRED bricklayer turned a shotgun on himself after hearing that he would have to wait10 months for an NHS operation to ease his severe back pain.
Brian Williams, 60, of the Bothy, in the Hall Barn Estate in Beaconsfield, was found dead in his front garden by his wife Lynne on May 24 this year.
Mr Williams had suffered from back pain for 27 years and had been forced to leave his job as a bricklayer because of it.
It is not known what the cause of Mr Williams' pain was and investigations into it by a pathologist had not yielded any results.
Two major operations over the years had failed to solve the problem and his left leg had gone numb after bone was grafted from one of his hips onto his coccyx.
A week before his death he had visited a specialist who told him that he faced a wait of 10 months for another operation.
Mrs Williams told coroner Richard Hulett that her husband was in constant pain in the last stages of his life.
She said: "His leg was completely numb, he had muscle wastage and weighed about seven stone. It hurt his stomach every time he ate. He said it was like stomach ache but 1,000 times worse. He said to me: 'If I were an animal you'd take me to the vet and put me out of my misery.'"
On the day of Mr Williams' death, his wife had been shopping in Beaconsfield.
She returned at 5.30pm to find him laying in his front garden and she quickly phoned for an ambulance.
She said: "I thought he had collapsed and when I contacted the ambulance service they told me to check his pulse. As I got close to him I saw blood by the side of his head. I saw the shotgun next to his head and realised what he had done."
Mr Williams had held a gun license for many years and kept it in a cupboard at home.
Mrs Williams added: "He could not take the pain any more and no one could help him."
Richard Hulett said: "Brian Williams had back pain for 27 years. He had two major operations but they gave him no relief and there was no hope of any improvements. He suffered more pain than he could take and in the end he turned a gun on himself.
I record a verdict that he took his own life."
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