The family of a man who starved to death four months after his benefits were cut off has called on the government to reform the way it treats people with mental health problems when it assesses their eligibility for benefits.

Mark Wood, 44, who had a number of complex mental health conditions, died at his home last August, months after an Atos fitness-for-work assessment found him capable of returning to work. This assessment triggered a decision by the jobcentre to stop his sickness and housing benefits, leaving him just £40 a week to live on.

The Oxfordshire coroner, Darren Salter, said that although it was impossible to identify the cause of death, it was probably "caused or contributed to by Wood being markedly underweight and malnourished". He weighed 5st 8lbs (35kg) when he died; his doctor said his body mass index was not compatible with life.

Why didn't his family raise an alarm, or help him?

If he really was that vulnerable, surely he should have been in care.

I hate to say it but I'm not surprised. Horrified, but not surprised. He won't be the last.

Possible he didn't have any or they might be far away. You'd have to wonder about his neighbours though.