Man killed himself after failed facelift

A wealthy retired businessman killed himself after he was "appalled" by the result of a third facelift operation, an inquest has heard. Colin Phillips's wife said he felt he had been "butchered" and became a recluse, the Newport hearing was told.

Mr Phillips, 62, from Lisvane, Cardiff, was so ashamed he told friends he had been hit in the face with a golf club.

Grandfather Mr Phillips had retired from kitchen company Llandaff Laminates he had set up 40 years ago in Cardiff, but was determined to stay looking young and healthy, the inquest was told. In a written statement to police his widow Janice told how her husband was "fanatical" about the way he looked. Mrs Phillips said: "He had two earlier facelifts with the first one leaving him feeling tremendous."



A month after his last operation Mr Phillips took an overdose and was admitted to hospital. Mrs Phillips said her husband's behaviour "became bizarre". He would bang his head on the fence of their home in Cardiff, pick up knives and drink bleach. Her husband made another failed suicide attempt before he hanged himself in woods eight months after his operation, the inquest was told.

On the day he disappeared, the retired managing director left a note saying he was going for a walk around a lake. A police search was launched when he failed to return home and his body was later found at a country park at Rudry, near Caerphilly. Pc Darren Saltmarsh said officers found his silver BMW was parked nearby and he was discovered hanging from a tree.

The surgeon who carried out the facelift was not named at the inquest. Gwent coroner David Bowen recorded a suicide verdict.