A PENSIONER gave a copy of his will to his nephew and left his bank book with his sister to "pay the gas and electric" before he drowned in a canal, an inquest heard.

Post mortem examination results on the body of 66-year-old Michael Joseph Gallagher showed he had the equivalent alcohol content in his stomach of 20 to 30 pints of beer.

On the towpath of the Leeds Liverpool Canal was an almost empty half bottle of whisky.

Pathologist Dr W D Salman gave the cause of death as drowning, but said there was evidence Mr Gallagher, of Healey Wood Road, Burnley, suffered from hypertensive heart disease which can cause dizziness and unsteadiness.

East Lancashire coroner David Smith recorded an open verdict, saying: "What happened was that either he decided to end his life or he over-balanced, or for some other reason went into the canal.

"It would be wrong of me to determine that he wanted to end his own life."

Mr Gallagher's belongings had been placed in a suitcase at his home and he had left a small note, but Mr Smith said it could not be described as a suicide note.

His sister Mrs Attracta O'Dea said her brother, a retired driver, had suffered mental health problems since 1993 and had been sectioned. He was on long-term drugs which had stabilised his condition.

She said he fell before Christmas and had been convalescing in a nursing home before being allowed back to his house on January 30. On that day, he had been at her house and had gone to the pub with her sons. He gave one of them a copy of his will.

Mrs O'Dea said: "He left my house at 5.30pm and he gave me a red bank book and said it was for gas and electric for his house.

"He usually came to us on Sunday and he said he would not be coming. I asked why and he said something which sounded like 'you know why'."

Mr Gallagher was spotted in the canal by angler Derek Walby, of Montrose Street, Burnley, who alerted the police.

Det Sgt Nicola Wignall said the nearly empty whisky bottle was on a nearby stone bench and there was evidence someone had been sitting smoking cigarettes. There were no suspicious circumstances.

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