A MAN died trying to scare his fiancée while he was 'joking around' after coming home from a night out, an inquest heard.

Philip Burns, 36, passed away at home on Thomson Street in Carlisle on February 28.

Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Burns worked in Glasgow during the week and would then come back to Carlisle at the weekend to be with his fiancée, Michelle Delahunty-Evans.

He had arrived in Carlisle on the afternoon of Friday, February 26, and he and his fiancée had gone to the pub to take part in a quiz. She said Mr Burns had taken a line of cocaine but didn’t do this regularly.

On Sunday, they had gone out in Carlisle and had 'quite a few drinks' and were “having a laugh”.

She said they had come home and were 'joking around', 'being silly'.

Ms Delahunty-Evans said she was singing along to the TV and had then turned around and saw Mr Burns had his back against the door.

She said they had been watching American Horror Story that weekend and Mr Burns had been trying to scare her.

The inquest heard that Mr Burns had been 'mucking around' trying to get his fiancée’s attention.

Emergency services were made aware of an unresponsive 36-year-old man, just after 3.30am.

Ms Delahunty-Evans had struggled to find her phone to call 999 and had gone into the street, shouting for help.

A statement read out from a police constable who attended the incident said he arrived to find an unresponsive male on the floor and a person carrying out CPR.

He said Mr Burns’ partner was 'intoxicated' and 'shocked' at what was going on.

A police sergeant who attended the scene said Mr Burns was lying on the floor when he arrived and there were indentations on the door frame.

A toxicological test of his blood revealed he had high levels of alcohol in his system and traces of cocaine.

'I suspect this is something he has done that has gone wrong'

Coroner Dr Nicholas Shaw said there had been nothing recently to suggest that Mr Burns had indicated any intention that he wished to harm himself.

He said: “If someone is found hanging, you initially think they have committed suicide.

“Philip has no mental health history, no history of self-harm. He had been out for a night out and seems to have had a good time.

“People don’t generally take their lives when people are in the same room at the same time. I find it hard to believe he has taken his own life.

“I’m more inclined to think that because they were playing around, I suspect this is something he has done that has gone wrong.

“No one will know. Philip can’t talk to us from the grave. I think it’s more likely than not he was mucking around and something went wrong.”

He said it was likely Mr Burns was trying to scare his fiancée by hanging on the door when the ligature had tightened and caused his death.

A statement read out from Mr Burns’ mother, Andrea McGrath, said the loss of her son had "completely broken her heart”.

Mr Burns had been released from prison in February 2020 after being convicted of assault on a child. He had “found a job he loved” as a dry lining operative.

Ms McGrath said he had been in a better place than he had been in a long time.

Dr Shaw concluded that Mr Burns died by misadventure, with a medical cause of death as hanging.

In his concluding statement, the coroner said: “After a long period of trouble, Philip Burns had turned his life around. He was taking steps to lead a more stable and balanced life. He was working. He had plans for the future.

“I’m happy with a conclusion of misadventure.”

Speaking to Ms Delahunty-Evans, Dr Shaw added: “There will always be a hole in your heart where Philip was but it doesn’t mean you won’t find future happiness.”

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