The sudden death of a High Wycombe carer may have partly been triggered by Coca-Cola, an inquest has heard.

On Wednesday, an inquest into the death of Stephen Payne, who died aged 61 on August 11, 2020, took place at Beaconsfield Coroners Court.

The court heard how on the day of his death, Mr Payne, who suffered with diabetes and epilepsy, had been feeling tired and struggling with sore legs.

While out shopping with his partner Tina Carpenter, who he also cared for as she had learning and mobility difficulties, Ms Carpenter noticed that he was not feeling himself.

In a statement from Ms Carpenter read out by coroner Ian Wade, he said: “Around two weeks before his death Stephen developed a headache, and his legs were feeling tight.

“On August 11, Stephen was drinking more water than usual and was feeling thirsty all the time. At around 10.30am they went shopping, and Stephen had to keep sitting down.

“At 12pm they went for a pub lunch, but he couldn’t manage to finish his meal.

“He had two Coca Colas because he was still thirsty. This was out of character for Stephen to not finish his meal.”

The court heard how in the evening, when the pair were at home in Cotswold Way, Mr Payne was suffering with shaking hands and was very tired. He sat down on his bedroom floor and would not get up again, and started speaking with jumbled words.

Mr Payne told Ms Carpenter that he did not want her to call an ambulance, but after a neighbour came in to help, they called one, and paramedics arrived at around 9.30pm. He was unresponsive when they arrived and was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.

Reading through a report from Mr Payne’s GP, the court heard how he suffered with type two diabetes, but over the past few years had regularly cancelled appointments regarding his condition.

Mr Payne was also medically obese, weighing 105kg (16 stone).

An autopsy of Mr Payne found that he died from multiple causes relating to his diabetes, epilepsy, obesity, and toxicity in his body.

Coroner Mr Wade stated that Stephen’s inability to control his diabetes, combined with his activity earlier that day, may have been what brought on his death.

He said: “In his final days, by drinking a particularly large volume of Coca-Cola, he perhaps inadvertently and entirely unwittingly contributed to a serious decline in his overall physical health.

“His GP clearly tried all they could to help him manage his illnesses, but he appeared to be set against keeping his appointments.

“And to that extent he unwittingly contributed to what appears to me to be nature taking its course.”

The coroner ruled that despite the number of factors involved in Mr Payne’s death, he ultimately died of natural causes.

“It’s the most appropriate, if not the most compassionate way of describing the end of Stephen’s life,” Mr Wade said.

“But it’s not appropriate to suggest that this life had ended for any other reason but that his time had come.”