Death by guillotine

2003-01-16 14:56

London - A British man has beheaded himself with a homemade guillotine he made secretly in his bedroom, the Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

Police were preparing a file for the coroner and attempting to establish whether the blade dropped by accident or if it was a case of suicide, the daily reported.

Boyd Taylor (36) was found by his father, with whom he ran a building firm at the home they shared in Milbourne in the northeastern English county of Northumberland.

An electrical timer, thought to have been used to activate a heavy blade, was attached to the machine, which measures around 2.5 metres by one metre and was modelled on the instrument used following the French Revolution.

"There are no suspicious circumstances. Further inquiries are being made into the man's background and events that led up to the death," a police spokesman said. - Sapa-DPA

- SAPA