A RECOVERING heroin addict hanged himself in his Winchester prison cell three days into his sentence after going ‘cold turkey’, an inquest heard.

Peter Davison refused treatment in jail and said he wanted to become “clean like his brother”, Winchester Coroner’s Court was told.

The 39-year-old was days away from checking into Baytree detox unit, in his native Portsmouth, before his arrest in June last year. Admission was still on the cards when he was found dead by prison officers.

Outside jail, he drank six litres of cider per day and had a long history of using drugs including heroin and crack cocaine, said Sally Ruff, a recovery worker for Portsmouth City Council.

Shortly after his incarceration on June 9 he refused to take methadone, a painkiller helping him off heroin. He failed to attend some health appointments despite warnings of withdrawal.

David Malcolm, a charity worker from the Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust (RAPT), told the inquest: “I just said to him that it's going to get quite painful, and he said ‘I know - I just want to be clean like my brother.’”

Mr Davison was found hanging by prison officer Andrew Heppell on June 12. Mr Heppell cut him free and paramedics attended but he was already dead. No note was found.

Cellmate James Cannon said Mr Davison was expecting trouble after sleeping with another’s wife and felt threatened by a prisoner to whom he owed £4,000, the inquest heard. No connection was made with the suicide.

In a statement read to the inquest, Mr Cannon added: “Pete never expressed any thoughts about self-harming, but he just seemed flat, scared and as if he had just given up on life.”

Dr Anand Nadaradjou, psychiatrist, said it was clinically puzzling for Mr Davison to have only mild withdrawal symptoms after coming off his heavy alcohol intake.

He suspected Mr Davison was accessing illicit drugs, but none were found on a search of his cell.

The jury returned a verdict of suicide. Senior central Hampshire coroner Grahame Short made no recommendations to improve the prison’s care or surveillance.