A man who died fter inhaling paint-stripper fumes was found slumped over a tank of the chemical by his wife, colleagues have said.
Brian Black, a 58-year-old father-of-two, died in his workshop at Chiltern Paint and Stripping on the Victorian Kitchener Works industrial estate at High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
Stewart Linford, from whom Mr Black leased the workshop, said that Mrs Black went looking for her husband when he did not return for dinner.
She and Darren Britnell, who works on the site, found Mr Black slumped over a tank of dichloromethane, a liquid paint-stripper.
They called an ambulance and fought to revive him through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but he was declared dead at the scene.
Mr Linford said he had known Mr Black for 20 years and was "shocked" at what had happened.
He said: "He was a conscientious, hard-working man. He kept himself to himself and was always working. He liked to keep his customers happy. It's very very sad indeed."
According to the Health and Safety Executive website, inhaling DCM vapour "can produce narcotic effects". The website said: "These include drowsiness, headache, giddiness and, at high concentrations, unconsciousness and death."
A spokesman for the HSE said they and Thames Valley Police were investigating the death.
He said: "HSE will look at all the circumstances of the accident and take full account of the findings of the post mortem."
