A TOTTON man drank himself to death, an inquest heard.

Karl Chambers, 46, was told by doctors to stop drinking, as he was consuming up to 24 cans of strong cider every day.

Mr Chambers, of Parkside, and previously of New Milton, was also using heroin-substitute methadone.

The hearing in Winchester heard that Mr Chambers had spent time in alcohol detoxification units but was unable to stop.

Dr Adrian Bateman, consultant histopathologist at Southampton General Hospital conducted a post mortem and said his alcohol level was some four times the legal drink driving limit.

Together with a therapeutic use of methadone, the combination would have been enough to depress Mr Chambers' breathing with fatal consequences, said Dr Bateman.

In a statement his partner Eileen Kiley said he regularly drank 24 cans of 7.5% strength cider. "A doctor told him he would die if he did not stop drinking. He went into detox for a couple of months in October 2017 but he started drinking again in January 2018."

On September 11 last year Mr Chambers had again drunk many cans of cider and fallen asleep on the bed.

Ms Kiley said she checked on him that evening and found him cold and unresponsive. She tried CPR and called 999 and he was taken to Southampton General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Senior coroner Grahame Short recorded a verdict of an alcohol and drug-related death.