A senior local authority solicitor committed suicide because he was unable to cope with the demands placed on him following a 30% cut to his department’s budget.

In the wake of the tragedy, the chair of Solicitors in Local Government (SLG) has warned that redundancies in the sector are leading to greater stress for council lawyers facing heavier workloads.

Suffolk County Council head of legal services David White worked weekends and long hours following a 30% reduction in his department’s budget.

An inquest in Ipswich heard that he was anxious over what he believed to be flaws in a public consultation being conducted by the council about library closures.

He committed suicide on 4 April, four days after becoming, in addition to his other duties, an interim monitoring officer to replace one that had left. In a suicide note, White said he had been ‘unable to cope with the demands placed on me’.

SLG chair Bev Cullen said: ‘Our sympathy goes out to David White’s family. Lots of local authorities have lost legal posts as the cuts bite, but the volume of work has not reduced and individuals are being forced to shoulder a heavy burden of extra responsibilities on top of their usual duties.

‘Despite the cuts, we still need to comply with the courts and we owe it to our clients, the taxpayers, not to make mistakes. It is all very stressful.’

Greater Suffolk coroner Peter Dean recorded a verdict of suicide last week, saying that it was clear that White understood the consequences of his actions.