A well-known West Cumbrian man died after taking a combination of heroin, methadone and alcohol, an inquest heard.

Simon Atkinson, 36, who was of no fixed abode at the time of his death, was at a friend's house on Queen Street, Whitehaven, when he suffered a cardiac arrest on October 12 last year.

The father-of-two was rushed to the West Cumberland Hospital by paramedics but died the following day when doctors opted to turn off his life support.

Coroner David Roberts told the inquest it was a drug-related death caused by acute drug and alcohol toxicity.

A toxicology report found there was 175mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, over twice the drink drive limit, as well as methadone and heroin.

Mr Atkinson's brother Matthew told the inquest how his younger brother had been a "happy kid" but as he grew up was "involved with the police all the time" and had been in and out of prison about 20 times.

He said he didn't see him much as he was always "carrying on" and that he was "drinking every time I saw him".

Mr Atkinson's GP, Dr Thomas Ickes, said he had a history of multiple A&E attendances for overdoses, alcohol problems and self-harming.

He told the inquest how Mr Atkinson had been staying on couches and in local parks since he was last in prison.

His friend Darren Smurthwaite met him on Lowther Street, Whitehaven, at around 7pm on the night he became critically ill, where Mr Atkinson asked to stay at his house for the night and said he had "alcohol and gear".

Mr Smurthwaite said: "I was reluctant but I let him in, I heard him breathing funny and sat him on a chair and told him to sort himself out."

He said he asked another friend, John Goodwin, who he had seen out of his window, to help Mr Atkinson and called 999.

The pair said they tried CPR while waiting for the ambulance.

Paramedics arrived at the Queen Street house and found Mr Atkinson unconscious on the floor.

At the hospital, he did not regain consciousness and Dr Samer Abdalla took the decision to withdraw support after his condition became severe and irreversible.

He said: "The family did not express concerns against the decision."

The post-mortem examination, carried out by Dr Sarah Davies, found the "most likely cause of a seizure" was drug and alcohol toxicity.

Mr Roberts concluded all the drugs had acted together to produce a toxic effect and Mr Atkinson had lost consciousness, the ability to breathe and his blood could not reach the brain.

He said Mr Atkinson was a "naive user" which made him more vulnerable than a long-term user.