A father of twins who apparently killed himself live on an internet webcam was suffering ill health following a serious car accident last year, his ex-wife said today.

Kevin Whitrick, 42, was found slumped on the floor of his home in Telford, Shropshire, by officers who broke into his home after a tip off from a neighbouring police force.

Police said that another web user had dialled 999 after spotting the father-of-two self-harming in a chatroom.

A post mortem carried out today confirmed the cause of death as hanging.

Today his ex-wife, who did not wish to be named, said: “Kevin was a loving father and family man. He was always the life and soul of the party, an extremely considerate and kind person and loved by many, he will be so sadly missed by us all.

“Unfortunately Kevin had a very serious car accident in July 2006 and had never fully recovered back to full health.”

Mr Whitrick was father to a boy and girl aged 12.

Detective Chief Inspector Jon Groves, who is leading the investigation into the death, said that the emergency call had been received by neighbouring West Midlands Police, indicating that the person who reported the incident lived in the Birmingham area or its surroundings.

He said: “Our enquiries to date have revealed that Mr Whitrick was using an internet chat room with a number of other people at the time of his death. Police have managed to secure some of the necessary internet files and these will form part of our investigation.

“We are working to ensure that witness support facilities are available to those who may have been affected by what they saw. We also have family liaison officers in place to support Kevin’s family at this difficult time.”

A police spokesman added that the man, "who had been conversing with other parties on an internet messaging service, appeared to self-harm".

An email received by the Shropshire Star suggested that Mr Whitrick appeared on www.paltalk.com on Wednesday night, according to a story posted on the newspaper’s website. Police have not released any details of the website.

The father’s apparent suicide echoes that of Brandon Vedas, a 21-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona, who killed himself online in January 2003 using a mix of alcohol and prescription medicine.

In that case, some onlookers were believed to have cheered him on as he took the lethal dose while others desperately looked for his address to alert police.

The incident sparked a wave of soul-searching across the United States about chatrooms and webcams, and what they were being used for.

West Mercia Police today said they are treating the death as "unexplained," and have asked for anyone with information to ring police on 08457 444888.

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