A MUCH loved shopkeeper from Hay-on-Wye who was credited with helping to put the border town on the tourist map took his own life, a coroner had recorded.

Edward Bartholomew Brotherton-Ratcliffe known as "Barty" was found dead by his wife and son who became concerned about his welfare and tracked him down using a mobile phone finding application on an iPad.

Mr Brotherton-Ratcliffe died near Hay Bluff with his possessions including a fountain pen by his side.

Barty, who was 52, was well loved in Hay-on-Wye and was the owner of Bartrums stationery shop in Lion Street.

He also designed and built the interiors of Hay shops and establishments including Shepherds ice-cream parlour, Number Two, Hay Deli, and the Blue Boar.

Many in the region regard Mr Brotherton-Ratcliffe as one of the key figures behind Hay's unique brand which attracts tourists on scale that few other towns in the country can match.

At the inquest held into his death held in Brecon last Thursday, his wife Kate Brotherton-Ratcliffe said she became concerned when her husband failed to answer his mobile phone.

"I tried to contact him as I wanted to use the car and it was quite out of character for him not to answer but it was a couple of hours before I became worried," said Mrs Brotherton-Ratcliffe.

"My husband's iPad had an application to find an Iphone and I borrowed a vehicle from a friend."

She then drove up to Hay Bluff before finding her husband of 21 years on the top of a steep hill.

"Our family life was happy and normal. He was taking medication for ADHD and had been up and down for about 10 years but seemed fine in the last couple of days.

"He was showing normal behaviour and didn't act out of the ordinary.

"We had previously spoke about times when he had felt suicidal. He worried about work more than the average person."

Powys County Coroner Andrew Barkley recorded a verdict of suicide.