"I LOVE you more than anything. I'm so proud of you." These were among the final words the Reverend John Pugh said to his son.Shortly afterwards he kissed the teenager before committing suicide by setting himself and his car alight.
By Georgina James
"I LOVE you more than anything. I'm so proud of you." These were among the final words the Reverend John Pugh said to his son.
Shortly afterwards he kissed the teenager before committing suicide by setting himself and his car alight, an inquest heard today.
Mr Pugh, of Temple Road, Stowmarket, died in a fireball after lighting a mixture of gas and fuel which engulfed his Honda outside his Stowmarket home.
His death was witnessed by his son Barnabas, aged 17 at the time, whose frantic attempts to save his father left him in hospital with burns.
At today's inquest into the death of the minister of the United Reformed Church, the court heard how the 54-year-old's mind had become disturbed in the days leading up to his death on June 3.
The minister had been suspended while allegations of an indecent assault on a teenager in the 1980s were being investigated by Suffolk police.
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