A bank CEO who believed he was about to be investigated in a probe by the banking regulator drowned himself in his outdoor swimming pool, an inquest heard.
Adrian Hill, 60, was found face down in the water under the cover at his multi-million pound home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
The financier was discovered by his wife and their groundskeeper who lived on the estate on March 29.
The hearing in Oxford was told he had been suffering from stress and night terrors after becoming convinced he was about to be punished by the Financial Conduct Authority, and was going to be sent to prison.
The father-of-two was given CPR by paramedics at the scene before being taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, where he was pronounced dead.
Mr Hill killed himself after he told his wife Belinda he was going downstairs to make a cup of tea, an inquest heard today.
When he did not return, 58-year-old Mrs Hill became concerned and followed him downstairs to discover the lights were off in the kitchen and the door to the garden was open.
Adrian Hill, 60, (pictured) was found face down in the water under the cover at his multi-million pound home
His death came as a huge shock to friends and family, including his two daughters Elli and Jessica, who all knew him as a successful financier.
Mrs Hill told the Assistant Coroner for Oxfordshire, Sonia Hayes, that she had been concerned about her husband’s manic episodes in the summer of last year.
The widow, who attended the inquest, said in a written statement: ‘Adrian had become very hyped up and manic about certain issues and started to write excessive compulsive letters.
‘He was talking under his breath and there was a lot of getting himself into a pickle and worrying about things, worrying about his paperwork. He was concerned that a regulator was going to come and arrest him.’
The inquest heard that on March 19, shortly after returning from a holiday in the US, where they had visited Jessica, Mr and Mrs Hill had visited their local GP, Dr Shams Aljoboori, who told the coroner that Mr Hill was feeling anxiety and a lot of pressure.
Dr Aljoboori said: ‘He was having some manic-like episodes, like going out and buying expensive pictures, for example. Mrs Hill said the episodes had been going on for months.’
The financier was discovered by his wife and their groundskeeper who lived on the estate (pictured) on the outskirts of Henley-on-Thames on March 29
The coroner heard that on the evening before her husband’s suicide, Mrs Hill sat him down, made him dinner and tried to find out what they could do to help him, adding she was ‘quite firm with him’, although she said they did not argue and instead went to bed.
Mrs Hill had fallen asleep after her husband had gone to make a cup of tea, only waking up when she realised he had not returned around an hour later.
She called Angus Palmer, who worked for the Hills to manage their estate and lived on the grounds of the property on the outskirts of Henley-on-Thames.
Mrs Hill and Mr Palmer split up to search for Mr Hill.
Mrs Hill told the inquest: ‘I thought he might be in the swimming pool or at the shed. I knew Angus was covering the grounds so would get to the shed.
‘There is a short walk way to get to the pool. I turned the lights on, he did not seem to be there. I saw his red dressing gown on the pool side and a cup on my exercise machine.’
Mrs Hill said that she could see about a metre of water in the 10-metre length pool, because the rest was hidden by the rolling pool cover.
She added that usually the couple kept the pool completely covered when it was not in use and she had gone to the controls to roll the cover back completely, at which point Mr Hill was revealed floating face down in the water just past a set of steps about four metres down the pool.
Mr Palmer told the inquest in a statement: ‘I saw Belinda go into the building and suddenly I heard screaming. I ran and saw Belinda kneeling at the side of the pool.’
Ms Hayes, who recorded a verdict of suicide, concluded she was satisfied Mr Hill had entered the water intentionally, saying it was unlikely he had opened the cover and then fallen into the water. Pictured: The gates to the couple’s estate
Together, Mr Palmer and Mrs Hill had recovered Mr Hill from the swimming pool at 2am and Mr Palmer had carried out CPR for over 10 minutes while emergency services were scrambled to the scene.
Mr Hill was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading in cardiac arrest, the inquest heard but was declared dead shortly after arrival when medics said there were no signs of life.
The coroner said of Mr Hill’s death: ‘He had a history of getting up at night and saying he was going to go and make a cup of tea and changing his mind but on that night, he went to make a cup of tea and left.
‘Mrs Hill became concerned and searched the house and when she could not find him she called Mr Palmer, who lived on the property. Mrs Hill started to go towards the swimming pool.
‘Having activated the cover to go back, she saw that Adrian was near the steps, what would have been under the cover face down in the water. The emergency services were summoned immediately.’
Ms Hayes, who recorded a verdict of suicide, concluded she was satisfied Mr Hill had entered the water intentionally, saying it was unlikely he had opened the cover and then fallen into the water.
‘It is more likely that Adrian decided to remove the cover himself and on the balance of probabilities, Adrian had been in a crisis.
‘His behaviour had become increasingly irrational and he was very fearful that he was going to be punished by a regulator and be put into prison. Whether it was rational or irrational, it was pressing very heavily on his mind and friends and family could not dissuade him from that.
‘I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Adrian did intend to do this action. He was not under the influence of alcohol and drugs and I am satisfied that he did not fall into the pool accidentally and that he did intend to end his life.’
Mr Hill was a director of HFC bank before it was taken over by HSBC.
He had also held senior positions at British Credit Trust Holdings, Tesco Personal Finance Group and HSBC.
At the time of his death he was still a director for Garnet, based in Clapham, south London.
He also founded the Keep Penrith Special campaign group, which is fighting proposals to build thousands of homes in that part of Cumbria.
- For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see samaritans.org for details.