A TAXI driver told a coroner how he had to brake to avoid a man who staggered into the road and who was later found drowned in the River Irwell.

Mr Andrew Leach, of Bye Road, Shuttleworth, said he had known 61-year-old former cook Brian Francis Nuttall for 30 years and after he had narrowly missed him on Bridge Street, Ramsbottom, on the evening of September 28 he saw him "lurch back" on to the footpath and hold on to a railing.

"He seemed to be suffering a lot from drink," Mr Leach told North Manchester Coroner Mr Barrie Williams. "Ten minutes later when I went past to collect a fare he was still there near the overflow section of the river, attempting to light a cigarette."

A woman walking her dog the following morning looked into the river overflow and saw a body face down in the river. She alerted the police. A post mortem examination showed that Mr Nuttall, who lived alone in Fir Street, Ramsbottom, had 270 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood in his system - more than three times the legal limit for a car driver.

Mr Nuttall's daughter, Melanie Nuttall, of Rochdale Old Road, Bury, had received a telephone call from her father from a local pub on the evening in question when he appeared to be all right.

A CID investigation showed no hint of foul play or third party involvement.

Mr Leach told Mr Williams that Mr Nuttall had been standing by a low wall when he last saw him. When he returned along the route five minutes later Mr Nuttall was no longer there.

Mr Williams thanked Mr Leach for his "public spirit" in coming forward to shed light on Mr Nuttall's last known actions.

In recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Williams said there was no question Mr Nuttall intended self-harm.

"I believe, in the condition he was, not totally able to walk without staggering or looking for support, he had fallen over a low wall and into the river by accident. That's the most probable sequence of events," he added.

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