A FORMER model found dead at his home three months ago died of a heart attack, an inquest has been told.

The inquest heard Adam Maden, 32, of Phillipstown, Whitewell Bottom, was discovered on Friday, May 30, by a friend who climbed in through his bedroom window after he had not been seen for two days.

The family were told in a letter from the coroner's officer Bob Wilson that it was likely he had died as a result of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome -- the rare condition linked to the death of international footballer Marc Vivien Foe.

But his parents Jean Maden, 60, and Ken, 65, both of Booth Crescent, Waterfoot, found out yesterday at a Burnley inquest that he had actually died from a heart attack.

Adam, who had done a stint of catalogue modelling, worked as a stone mason for Acorn Stone Merchants, Nelson, but was also a bouncer in Accrington and Rawtenstall and was well known throughout East Lancashire for his martial arts skills.