The family of young singer Lil' Chris have spoken of his battle to come to terms with his fame after an inquest found he hanged himself.

The 24-year-old, whose real name was Chris Hardman, was found dead at his home in Suffolk in March last year.

He had risen to fame aged 15 after an appearance in the 2006 Channel 4 series Rock School.

The inquest into his death in Bury St Edmunds heard that he had struggled with depression and had been in contact mental health services at several points in his career.

He had told friends that the pressures of fame had worsened feelings of paranoia and anxiety.

Sister Hannah Hardman, who was at the hearing with parents Ian and Karen, said afterwards that her brother had wanted to overcome his difficulties and wanted to highlight the prevalence of mental illness among young men.

She added: "The one thing we would like to take away from this tragedy is to get people speaking more openly about mental illness."

Suffolk coroner Peter Dean said: "Clearly he was a very talented young man who found fame at an early age.

"Sadly that fame also brought with it difficulties and problems but he had shown a desire to relaunch that career once more."