A “friendly and witty” husband and son died after consuming a large amount of alcohol and medication, an inquest heard.

Simon Stafford, 32, was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, but was found dead at his home in Blackburn on Thursday, April 21 last year after he had taken alcohol and prescription medication to help with his mental health issues.

In an inquest at Blackburn Town Hall, coroner Kate Bisset returned a verdict of misadventure, concluding it was more likely that not that the alcohol and medication combined together to lead to Mr Stafford’s death.

He did have a heart condition that he was unaware of and this likely played a part in his death too, but it was not ruled to be the main factor.

There was also no evidence to suggest he had intended to take his own life, nor was there any third party involvement or any suspicious circumstances.

Mr Stafford first presented to the East Lancashire Early Intervention Service, a community-based team for people experiencing their first episode of psychosis or for people at risk of developing psychosis, on Tuesday, September 21, 2021.

He had an extended assessment to determine whether alcohol would be a primary factor in the development of psychosis, which went on for 16 weeks.

During this assessment, Mr Stafford went to stay with his brother in Edinburgh and referred to the home treatment team in the city for the duration of his stay.

There was no significant improvement after he returned from Scotland and he had become preoccupied with the belief that his neighbours were able to read his thoughts and were sharing these.

Mr Stafford also had help from Inspire, a drug and alcohol service, while the Early Intervention Service were still trying to find the right balance with his medication.

He had weekly contact with Inspire, having home visits and telephone calls in between. During a walk with one of the workers there, he spoke positively about his future goals and reported no issues.

Mr Stafford had agreed to have weekly therapy sessions and also enquired about volunteering at a Buddhist centre in early April. He had also made further contact with Inspire, was undergoing CBT and was taking his medication.

However, on Friday, April 22, they received a message from Mr Stafford’s mother to say that he had died.

Mr Stafford had struggled with his mental health for some years, and had returned to the country after living in Vietnam, where he met his wife, for three years after experiencing panic attacks.

Nikki Major, district manager for Inspire, said that alcohol was a particular difficulty for Mr Stafford and that he also self-medicated with over the counter medication like co-codamol.

Mr Stafford’s death was investigated by the police and they found no evidence of third-party involvement or any suspicious circumstances.

A bloods report from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals showed at the time of his death he had an ethanol level of 322 micrograms, a level which the coroner said is not uncommonly found in fatal ethanol poisoning.

Other drugs in his system may have enhanced the sedative effect of the alcohol and sped up his death.

Mr Stafford’s parents described him as a “great musician”, “very friendly with a good sense of humour” and “witty”.

He was a self-taught musician who could play the keyboard, guitar and drums, and had lived in Vietnam as an English teacher for three years.

Coroner Bisset extended her condolences to the family, saying Mr Stafford sounded like he had “some wonderful features”.

She recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.