A 49-year-old man's 'long standing battle with alcohol and drugs' ended in tragedy when he died at home, an inquest heard yesterday.

Gordon Ayres of Fairfax Road, Cirencester, had been drinking about 40 units of alcohol a day as well as using illicit drugs, the Gloucester inquest was told.

He had been offered help from drug and alcohol abuse services and had de-toxed in hospital not long before his death - but then relapsed.

Gloucestershire senior coroner Katie Skerrett recorded a verdict that Mr Ayres suffered a drug and alcohol related death on February 4 this year.

In a statement acting police sergeant Chris Wright said he was called to Mr Ayres home at 6.25pm that day because his two sisters were concerned they had not heard from him for three days and could not get any answer.

The sergeant said he broke in and saw evidence of recent heroin use in the kitchen. He found Mr Ayres dead at the top of the stairs. He had a syringe in one hand.

A report from Mr Ayres' GP surgery said he had a long standing battle with alcohol dependency and illicit drugs and was suffering from chronic obstructive lung disease.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Nina Buntwell of Turning Point said that in June last year he was drinking about 40 units of alcohol a day and injecting heroin daily.

On December 21 last year he was admitted to hospital and spent several days in intensive care after overdosing on the heroin substitute methadone.

He was discharged from hospital on January 5 having been de-toxed but by February 2 was drinking a litre bottle of vodka a day, stated the psychiatrist.

He was offered an appointment with Turning Point on February 3 but declined it, saying it was too early for him and he was then found dead the next day.

A toxicology report said he had 174mgs of alcohol per 100mls of blood. Cocaine and methadone were found in his urine.

Pathologist Dr John McCarthy found a needle puncture mark in his right elbow and concluded that death was due to the toxic effects of alcohol and methadone.

The coroner said: "It is quite evident that this relatively young man had a long standing battle with alcohol and drugs and despite assistance given to him by the substance misuse and Turning Point team, unfortunately he failed to get on top of the battle and drugs and alcohol got the better of him.

"It is regrettable he was not able to maintain abstinence from illicit drugs and alcohol. That is what caused him to pass away."

Conclusion - a drug and alcohol related death.