"Poor communication" between the Metropolitan Police and their Suffolk counterparts must be addressed after a man took his own life, a coroner has warned.

Anthony Ingram left his London address for his second home in Westleton, Suffolk, on March 29 last year.

At the time, he was known to be in possession of rope and a collapsible bicycle, but this information was not passed onto Suffolk Police, despite concerns Mr Ingram's mental health had been deteriorating.

During the afternoon a Suffolk officer attended to Mr Ingram’s second home but did not enter although keys were available from a neighbour.

The man’s vehicle was not present, and the officer decided he had insufficient information to enter the premises at that time.

Shortly after the visit, Mr Ingram's vehicle was found in a car park more than two miles from his second home, and police search activity was focused there.

Once Suffolk officers became aware that Mr Ingram had a rope, and the search of the car park area had failed to locate him, they returned to the second home and entered, finding him deceased.

The collapsible bicycle was found in the hallway.

Suffolk's senior coroner Nigel Parsley concluded Mr Ingram died as a result of suicide at an inquest in January and said action should be taken to prevent future deaths.

In a prevention of future deaths report published this week, he said: "Poor communication between the Metropolitan Police and Suffolk Constabulary meant officers on the ground were missing information which would have informed their decision making regarding the search for Anthony and informed their use of police powers.”

A Suffolk Constabulary spokesman said: “We acknowledge the findings by the coroner and we will endeavour to ensure we continue to play a role in the sharing of information between forces when appropriate.”