A PENSIONER from Bourton-on-the Water man who drank between two and six litres of whisky a week died from the effects of bleeding around his brain, an inquest heard.

David Oliver was housebound for a year before his death, hardly moving from a reclining chair in which he spent the day and the night.

Gloucestershire Deputy Coroner David Dooley was told that the 78-year-old suffered from chronic kidney disease and heart problems, and had also had deep vein thrombosis and skin cancer.

During the inquest at Gloucestershire Coroner's Court today, Mr Oliver's friend of 14 years Anthony Tizack said he had lived in a mobile home at Valley View Park, Old Gloucester Road, Bourton, and was a retired stonemason.

"For the past 12 months he had been off his legs, with carers coming in to see to his needs," he said.

"He had occasional falls and drank between two and six litres of whisky a week.

"He was admitted to Cirencester Hospital in a confused state and then transferred to Cheltenham General. He complained of a pain in his head but could not give any cause for it."

Dr Malik Sharratt, a specialist at Cirencester Hospital, said that the main reason Mr Oliver was admitted was because he was not coping at home, and could have been suffering from a urinary tract infection (UTI).

"He had a history of excess alcohol intake and had been admitted to the hospital on a number of occasions due to falls," he said.

"There was no history of falls or head injury directly before he went into hospital and he was treated with antibiotics for the UTI."

But after improving on June 24 last year, he developed sepsis and deteriorated.

Elderly care consultant at Cheltenham Hospital, Dr Helen Gentles, said Mr Oliver was admitted on June 25 because of his continuing confused state.

He responded well to treatment and was able to answer questions, she said, but he was then found to be suffering from pneumonia and on June 27 a CT scan showed that he had bleeding around the brain.

"There was considerable pressure on the brain," she said. "And his pneumonia worsened. He deteriorated further and died on June 29."

A post mortem found that there had been a large bleed around the brain, and the pneumonia from which Mr Oliver died was directly related to it.

Mr Dooley recorded a conclusion of death by accident, but said the trauma Mr Oliver must have suffered from to cause the bleeding was not known.