DRINK and drugs killed a 45-year-old man who collapsed behind a town church, a coroner has ruled.

An inquest at Herefordshire Coroner’s Court was told that Christian Morris was seen falling to the ground on Saturday, September 23, beside Ross-on-Wye Baptist Church by his friend Andrew Marsh.

Mr Marsh gave him chest compressions until an ambulance arrived, but Mr Morris died two days later in Hereford County Hospital.

A toxicology test showed Mr Morris of Old Tannery Way, Ross, had 280mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood – three and a half times the drink drive limit – which "in a normal person would be marked by extreme drunkenness."

Morphine in his blood also showed he had taken heroin, and coroner Mark Bricknell said the cocktail of drink and drugs may have caused respiratory depression.

The inquest heard Mr Morris, who lived at Old Tannery Way, Ross, was an alcoholic and had in the past tested positive for opiates.

His father, Raymond Morris, told the inquest: "It seemed to me he was over-prescribed diazepam," but Mr Bricknell said there was only a trace of the drug in his system when he died.

The coroner recorded that Mr Morris died from a cardio respiratory arrest which caused hypoxic brain injury, which was secondary to drug intoxication. He concluded that his death was alcohol and drug related.