Devoted husband, 72, killed himself by setting his car on fire after his wife of 50 years died, telling rescuers trying to save him 'let me go'

A devoted husband who was left heartbroken by the death of his wife killed himself by setting his car on fire, telling rescuers to 'let him go', an inquest heard today.

Michael Hewett, 72, died in the car inferno in February, two months after the death of his wife Diana on New Year's Day.

The couple had been married for more than 50 years and were 'devoted to each other', relatives said. 

On February 11 he sat in his Honda CRV on the driveway of his rural home in the village of Lezant, Cornwall, and set fire to the car.

Neighbours heard an explosion and pulled him from the inferno but he suffered 95 per cent burns and died later in Plymouth's Derriford Hospital.

As rescuers surrounded Mr Hewett to save him, he mumbled to a firefighter at the scene 'let me go', the inquest heard.  

Police found an entry in his 2023 diary on January 25 saying: 'I cannot live without my wife. Sorry, Mike.'

The day before his death he had made the arrangements for his wife's funeral.

The couple, who were childless, were described as 'placid and calm' and did not have many friends.

One friend told the inquest in Truro, Cornwall, that after Mrs Hewett died, Mr Hewett changed and became quiet and struggled without their routine and was grief stricken.

Doctors said the retired factory worker suffered burns to every part of his body but his feet and that his injuries were unsurvivable.

Relatives on his wife's side of the couple said they were 'devoted to each other' and were not surprised that he died six weeks after his wife.

Friend Teresa Parnell said they were married for 53 years and Mr Hewett was heartbroken when she died.

She said: 'He struggled after her death. He did not know how to boil an egg and he struggled with loneliness.'

Police and fire investigators concluded Mr Hewett had deliberately placed himself in the car and set fire to it as he intended to end his life.

The senior Cornwall coroner Andrew Cox recorded a suicide conclusion saying they lived for each other's lives and Mr Hewett was lost without her.