A depressed former postal worker and his mother killed themselves in a suicide pact, an inquest has been told.

Paul Burrows, 35, and his mother Julia Burrows, 66, were found dead in the home they shared in Aultone Way, Sutton.

Sister and daughter Michelle George made the discovery with her husband David George on July 19 when she went to visit the pair.

The mother and son had taken a drug overdose.

The inquest on Tuesday heard that Mr Burrows, a single man, had become depressed since the age of 16 when he had a circumcision arranged by his mother.

He developed depression and dysmorphobia – a condition marked by excessive preoccupation with an imaginary or minor defect in part of the body.

In later years he expressed a desire to kill himself, but would not carry it through while his mother was alive.

The court heard that divorced Mrs Burrows, who was born in India, was “stressed’’ and “depressed’’ about her son’s medical condition.

The two shared a “tense’’ relationship at times.

However, as Mr Burrows was “dependent on his mother for comfort’’ and could not live alone, it became a “vicious circle’’.

In 2008 Mr Burrows developed insomnia and began to self medicate with drugs, buying more through the internet as he became dependent on them.

Later in the year he began to reject help given by doctors.

Police found the pair dead in separate rooms, with suicide notes “expressing sorrow’’ and a book on euthanasia called Final Exit.

Mrs George was found comforting her mother’s head and crying.

At the inquest Dr Roy Palmer read a letter by Dr Indira Naganathar, who once treated Mr Burrows.

He said: “He had problems with a circumcision his mother arranged for him as a child which he believed had disfigured his penis and prevented him from having sexual relationships.

“From the age of 16 he started to have depression and concerns about his appearance.

“He would look at himself several times in the mirror and check his teeth.

“He became worried about scarring on his neck caused by two moles.’’ Toxicology tests revealed the pair had been killed by a cocktail of drugs.

The dose included phenobarbitone, which was found in concentrations above what is fatal.

Dr Palmer said both had killed themselves in a “joint exercise’’