Man died trying to amputate own legs with hacksaw

The husband of a hypnotherapist to the stars bled to death in his Mayfair home after trying to amputate his own legs with a hacksaw, an inquest heard. Barrie Hepburn, 65, had lost the use of his legs after he was shot three times at his holiday home in the south of France following an argument over a neighbour's dog.

The retired property consultant, whose wife Susan runs a Harley Street clinic for clients including singer Lily Allen, survived the attack in 2000 but his injuries left him confined to a wheelchair. Last August he was found on the kitchen floor after using a hacksaw to almost completely sever his right leg having tied a plastic bag around it as a makeshift tourniquet.



He called for an ambulance and said he was suffering from heavy bleeding, but slipped into unconsciousness and died before paramedics could reach him. Mr Hepburn, a sports car enthusiast, had often spoken of using self-surgery to amputate his "useless" limbs, Westminster coroner's court was told.

He had become particularly determined in the months before his death because of difficulties he had getting in and out of his high-performance Jaguar XJ saloon car, which he had bought the previous year. Recording a verdict of misadventure, Westminster Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said: "I think it is quite clear he had no intention of taking his own life. This was a tragic turn of events."