THE death of a 38-year-old Winchester man was “inevitable”, in inquest heard.

Ian Wilkinson, of Christchurch Road, had a history of heroin abuse and died with a cocktail of drugs in his system.

He was found dead last year, on November 24, by his friend, Paul Ivory.

Last Wednesday (May 1), Mr Ivory told an inquest in Winchester: “I guess in many ways he used to just shut off to a lot of his problems and lived in the moment.”

Mr Ivory, of Cornwall Road, Eastleigh, said he had been staying with Mr Wilkinson at the time of his death. He awoke to find his friend dead and immediately sought help.

In a statement read to the coroner, PC Stuart Harris said he attended the scene and saw a needle next to Mr Wilkinson's body, which he presumed to contain heroin.

But Dr Adnan Al-Badri, consultant pathologist at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, told the court that Mr Wilkinson also had several prescription drugs in his system and did not die from an overdose.

“There is no such thing as a safe amount of heroin. This was not an overdose in the strict sense, but he reacted badly to it this time,” he said.

Central Hampshire Coroner, Grahame Short, recorded a verdict of accidental death.

He said: “This man, I'm afraid, was another victim and someone who I'm afraid it was inevitable, would at some point, succumb to his lifestyle.”