A YOUNG farmer shot himself in the head five minutes after his girlfriend said they should break up, an inquest heard.

James Lyon, 21, took his own life after receiving a text message from Annie Godfrey telling him her parents never wanted them to go out again.

It came on New Year’s Day, just hours after the couple’s celebrations ended with Mr Lyon crashing his car into a tree and being arrested for drink driving.

The inquest at Essex Coroner’s Court, in Chelmsford, heard Mr Lyon and Miss Godfrey had been to a young farmers party in Galleywood, on December 31 last year.

Mr Lyon, of North Benfleet Hall Farm, north Benfleet, booked into the Premier Inn, at Boreham.

At about midnight, the couple got into Mr Lyon’s Range Rover.

Det Insp Simon Anslow told the inquest: “Police officers saw him drive round a series of bends and found his car crashed into a tree.”

Two breath tests found he was about twice the legal drink-drive limit and Mr Lyon spent the night at Rayleigh police station.

A blood test confirmed he was over the limit.

Miss Godfrey was taken to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, with suspected whiplash and a broken hand, but was released the next morning.

Mr Lyon was taken home at around 7am by his mum and was full of regret.

The inquest heard he received abusive text messages from Miss Godfrey’s ex-boyfriend, suggesting he could have killed her.

Then just before 1pm on New Year’s Day, he received two text messages from Miss Godfrey.

One of them, read out to the inquest, said: “Dad’s saying if I ever see you again I should leave home. I’m so gutted this has happened and I can’t talk to you because everyone’s here and they’re angry.”

Just five minutes later Mr Lyon’s mum heard a loud bang from James’s room and found he had shot himself.

A note found on top of his bedside drawers, written in pencil on the back of an RAC document, said: “Mummy and daddy sorry for what it’s going to do.”

Det Insp Anslow told the inquest that James had been licensed to carry a gun and the gun had been secured in a cabinet before it was removed.

No trace of alcohol or drugs were found in a post-mortem examination and toxicology report.

Deputy coroner Eleanor McGann recorded a verdict of suicide. She said: “I do hope you remember the happy times with him. What a delightful young man he was. This is very sad.”