The leader of a community health group killed himself under a train after being involved in two road accidents in 24 hours, and being stressed by his workload.

The North Yorkshire East Coroner Michael Oakley recorded a verdict that John Richard Jewitt,43 of Linden Avenue, Great Ayton, killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed when he stepped in front of an East Coast Main Line train.

Mr Oakley was told at the hearing, at Pickering, that Mr Jewitt, who worked for Cleveland Council for Voluntary Service and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV), was "a private and intense man" but was kind and considerate. His wife, Julie, and two children were the most important things in his life.

Mrs Jewitt, who is pregnant, said her husband had been concerned about the arrival of the new baby, but respected her wish to keep it. He had been traumatised by the road accidents, having hit a deer in the first and written off his car in the second, the following day.

He had agreed to see a doctor about his worries. "There was a lot of happiness and love in our relationship" she said in a statement.

Medical evidence was given that Mr Jewitt died from severe multiple injuries in the accident which happened last August.

Mr Jewitt was also a leading committee member of the North York Moors Association and the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust.

Hundreds of friends and colleagues attended his cremation service in Middlesbrough, followed by a Quaker ceremony at the Friends' meeting room in Great Ayton.