An alcoholic dentist from West Yorkshire denied being suicidal after he was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving, an inquest jury was told.

Father-of-two Graham Cocking was taken to Bradford's Bridewell police station one evening in March last year after his Land Rover Discovery was involved in two crashes.

While there, he was asked a list of questions by a detention officer as part of a procedure to establish his well-being.

Bradford Coroner's Court was told that during the assessment, the 42-year-old was asked if he had any suicidal or self-harm tendencies.

He replied 'no', saying he was an alcoholic who took medication to help him sleep.

Tests showed that he had a breath alcohol reading which was more than three times the drink-drive limit.

Less than three and a half hours after his arrest, he was found suspended by a pair of trousers inside a police cell.

Detention Officer Mark Wyley was the first person at the scene of the tragedy.

After raising the alarm, he supported Mr Cocking's body until his colleagues arrived to help him.

Mr Cocking was then lowered to the ground before attempts were made to revive him.

But he died from hypoxic brain damage due to hanging the following day at Airedale General Hospital.

Inspector Derek Whitehouse helped to conduct an investigation into Mr Cocking's death after the matter was referred to the Police Complaints Authority.

He told the jury that since the incident video cameras at the station have been moved so that there is a better view of 'open' cells while they still take the privacy of individuals into account. But he added that a video would never replace constant supervision.

Mr Cocking, of Park Lane, Queensbury, Bradford, had been a partner at the Avondale Dental Practice in Bradford Road, Shipley. But he lost his job in 1998 after a row with his partners over long leaves of absence.

A consultant psychiatrist said Mr Cocking who had treatment later that year for alcohol problems was a conscientious man who "felt very guilty that he had become a slave to his habit of drinking".

The inquest continues.

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