A Marlow man was found unresponsive on his sofa by his son just days before he died in hospital, an inquest heard this week.

Peter Todd, 44, died at Wycombe General Hospital on January 26 after being found unconscious in his flat two days before.

An inquest at Buckinghamshire Coroners’ Court in Beaconsfield on Wednesday heard that Mr Todd’s son returned to his father’s flat in Foxes Piece at around 5.30pm to find him snoring on the sofa.

As he tried to wake him up, he found that he had vomited and as he was rolled over, he “lost respiratory output” and suffered a cardiac arrest.

When paramedics arrived at the scene, they found Mr Todd’s son carrying out CPR and they took over before taking him to hospital.

A report from South Central Ambulance Service said that paramedics found “no evidence” that he had taken a drug overdose around his flat.

He had also been with a friend up until around 4.30pm the same day, who said he appeared “unsteady” on his feet, having been prescribed morphine tablets and taking two that day.

On arrival at Wycombe Hospital, Mr Todd was admitted to intensive care and put on a ventilator and a CT scan revealed that he had suffered hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy – a brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain.

Tests carried out at the hospital found Mr Todd had a number of drugs in his system, including Diazepam, Gabapentin and THC, an ingredient of Cannabis – none of which typically cause sedation or death.

On January 26, a brain stem test carried out by an anaesthesia and intensive care medicine consultant showed that Mr Todd had no brain activity.

His family were given the tragic news and treatment was withdrawn. 

The inquest heard how Mr Todd had suffered long-term mental health issues since he was a teenager and had a personality disorder as well as “poorly-managed” diabetes.

At a meeting with a doctor from the Oxford Health NHS Trust about his mental health on October 11 last year, Mr Todd had reported feeling “low” about taking drugs and worried that it would affect his chances of seeing his children.

He had also had trouble moving into his new flat in Marlow due to transport issues.

At another meeting on January 18, he was said to be in a “low mood” because he had not been able to see his children over the Christmas period.

Senior Coroner for Bucks, Crispin Butler, recorded a narrative verdict, saying he could find no evidence that Mr Todd had tried to commit suicide.

He said: “Toxicology reports did not detect any drug that could explain his being unconscious or the brain injury that he suffered before he died.”