Halifax attempts to repossess suicide father's home over £5,000

A father of two killed himself after a downward spiral of bad debt and finance problems eventually saw his home repossessed and his family evicted.

Ian Beech, 47, apparently washed down a handful of painkillers with a bottle of whisky before walking into the sea.

His corpse was discovered on a Norfolk beach on the same day as bailiffs were due to arrive for the family home.

His family says that his suicide is the end result of a new campaign by lenders to get tough on those who lapse on payments.

Mr Beech, a freelance electronics salesman, award winning photographer and sports car enthusiast with no history of mental illness, was in the process of remortgaging his home to cover his debts when Halifax moved to repossess.

"It was wicked the way Halifax put the pressure on. Ian only had a mortgage for around £99,000, yet the property was worth £180,000," Mr Beech's father, John, told the Daily Mail.

"He was four or five months behind on his repayments, but the Halifax would have got all its money back. The way they pursued him was just disgusting, inhumane. Ian was a dedicated family man and a loving father."

Mr Beech said in a suicide note that he hoped life insurance policies he had taken out would spare his family bankruptcy, not realising that many firms will not pay out for suicide.

Mr Beech's death is the latest of a string of suicides that has been linked to rising number of bankruptcy filings.

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