Ted Hughes' son found hanged

THE widow of Ted Hughes has broken a lifetime of virtual silence about her turbulent family to express sadness at her stepson's suicide.

Carol Hughes issued a simple statement in a handwritten note to the Evening Standard after the death of Nicholas Hughes at the age of 47.

Mrs Hughes, who still lives in the thatched cottage near Okehampton, Devon, that she shared with the late poet laureate, raised Nicholas and his sister Frieda as her own after marrying Hughes in 1970.

It was seven years after the suicide of their mother, the poet Sylvia Plath.

"Nicholas's tragic death is devastating," she said. "He was a passionate and intense man who exuded great warmth and affection. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him."

She added: "There's nothing more I wish to say publicly."

Nicholas, a fisheries professor, was found hanged at his home in Fairbanks, Alaska, last Monday. He had been suffering from depression.