Man with history of alcoholism died after drinking bottle of vodka

Brian Fleming, 62, died at his flat on White School Close in Kells, Whitehaven, on July 21 last year.

An inquest into his death held at Cockermouth Coroners’ Court heard a statement from his daughter, Jade Tuck, who said she was estranged from him due to his alcoholism.

She said his final years had been lonely and he had lost contact with his siblings over the years.

Raymond Sayle, a friend of Mr Fleming, who had known him all his life, gave an account of his final days.

In a statement read to the inquest, Mr Sayle said he had been sofa surfing and was staying with Mr Fleming in the days leading up to his death,

He arrived at Mr Fleming’s flat with a woman, Nicola Johnston, on July 18.

They drank some brandy and Mr Sayle had then gone to look at a caravan at Haig Industrial Estate with Mr Fleming.

Mr Sayle said: “I didn’t realise how merry he was. He is an alcoholic and drinks every day. I could see he was bad fettle. I thought he was going to collapse.”

He said Mr Fleming was given a lift home by two strangers who were “really nice”.

Mr Sayle said that evening, they had been drinking cider, when Mr Fleming had fallen back and hit his head on a glass TV stand.

The following day, Mr Sayle said he and Ms Johnston had gone to Workington Wetherspoons. When they returned to Whitehaven, they saw Mr Fleming outside High Road Store at Kells, with a graze on his forehead.

Mr Fleming told them he thought he had fallen asleep in a bush. He said four people had stopped in their cars to ask if he was alright.

They drank again that evening, the inquest heard.

On July 20, Mr Sayle and Ms Johnston had again gone out and then returned to Mr Fleming’s flat in the evening.

Mr Fleming was drinking vodka and milkshakes. Mr Sayle said he and Ms Johnston decided to go to bed and were not drinking with him.

At around midnight, Mr Sayle had woken and gone into the living room. He said Mr Fleming was slumped over the chair.

He said he shouted for Ms Johnston to come through and she thought it was “serious”.

Mr Sayle said they carried out CPR until the ambulance arrived, which “seemed to take ages”.

He said police arrived on the scene and they were told that Mr Fleming was dead. They were taken to the police station.

A statement from Daniel Reed, a paramedic who attended the scene, said they had arrived at 2.20am but were unable to gain entry as the door was locked.

He said he had to ring the operator to request that they open the door. A few moments later, a man answered and said he was a friend of the patient.

Mr Reed said the man told him that he found Mr Fleming “unresponsive” in the lounge and he had drunk a full bottle of vodka and a few cans of cider.

The inquest heard that Mr Fleming was “clearly deceased” by the time the ambulance service was called.

A statement from Mr Fleming’s GP, Dr Graham Ironside, said Mr Fleming had a long history of alcohol dependency, going back to March 2005.

A post mortem examination was carried out by the Home Office due to the circumstances surrounding Mr Fleming’s death.

It showed Mr Fleming had changes to his liver that were consistent with someone who abuses alcohol.

He also had a high concentration of alcohol in his system but not an amount that was likely to account for his death.

The superficial wounds to the head were found to be consistent with the account given by Mr Sayle and did not play a part in his death.

Mr Fleming had a fracture to the spine, which was thought to be caused by the fall.

There was no evidence to support that he had been the victim of an assault.

The cause of death was given as a combination of acute alcohol intoxication and liver disease.

Coroner Dr Nicholas Shaw concluded that Mr Fleming’s death was alcohol related.

In his concluding statement, he said: “This is the inevitable outcome of chronic alcoholism. While it’s sad, one can’t say it’s an unexpected outcome.

“Hopefully Brian’s friends will remember some of the good things about him.”