A man who was found unresponsive in the bath died accidentally after mixing a ‘deadly combination’ of prescribed medication and recreational drugs, an inquest heard today.

Gregory Stiff, 22, died in hospital on June 14 after taking sleeping pills at a friend’s house.  

A post-mortem examination found that the pyrotechnician, who lived in Princes Street in Piddington, had traces of cocaine, codeine, cannabis, temazepam and clonazepam in his system and had aspiration pneumonia.

DS Nicholas Hind from Thames Valley Police told the inquest that police were called to a house in Radnage by the ambulance service at 1.10am on June 14 after they discovered a man in cardiac arrest.

He said that Mr Stiff had been at a social gathering with some friends when he had taken his sleeping pills and had remained asleep for most of the day.

DS Hind said: “On June 12, two brothers had the house to themselves and invited a group of friends over, including Greg. Some friends left, some stayed until as late as 8am in the morning.

“Greg stayed overnight, sleeping on the sofa in the lounge. He remained asleep and friends believed he had taken sleeping pills that had been prescribed to him.

“Friends had no concerns for him as he had told them he could sleep for up to 24 hours after taking them. They continued to check on him throughout the day.”

DS Hind told how Mr Stiff’s friends worried that he would vomit or urinate while he was sleeping and had placed him in the bath, with a pillow supporting his head, at around 9.30pm.

He said: “They continued to check on him regularly until they found him unresponsive. They called the ambulance service, then started CPR.

“He was taken to Wycombe General Hospital and placed on life support.

“There is no suggestion that Greg took drugs for any reason other than his own choice. He was erratic in taking his pills and it is possible he took them along with cannabis or cocaine.”

Piers Burnell, Coroner’s Officer for Bucks, confirmed to the inquest that Mr Stiff had no pre-existing diseases or conditions that could have contributed to his death.

Coroner Richard Hulett recorded a conclusion of drug-related death.

He said: “People were drinking alcohol and some people, including Greg, had taken drug substances. He is also believed to have taken sleeping tablets, he told a friend this.

“There is no suggestion he wanted to self-harm but his actions were his own. He suffered with insomnia and had prescribed sleeping tablets for this.

“It looks to me that this was an accidental event. It seems that a mixture of recreational drugs and prescribed medication was a deadly combination.”