A 41-YEAR-OLD Barrow man died after taking a fatal "cocktail of drugs".

Dean Benson, of Lord Street, died at his girlfriend's home in Ormsgill in the early hours of the morning on January 21.

An inquest into his death, held at Barrow Town Hall on Wednesday July 26, heard how he had taken a number of prescription and illicit drugs in the hours leading up to his death.

His father, Roland Benson, told the inquest how his son had tried to stop using heroin.

He said: "He told me he could not get away from the drugs and it was something inside him that would not let him go.

"He got in with the wrong crowd when he started.

"He just could not stop but he wanted to come clean and he tried many times."

Mr Benson's partner Joanne McMillan found him unresponsive and dragged him into the communal area of her Broad Close flat to provide CPR while paramedics and police were alerted.

A toxicology report found traces of nitrazepam, citalopram, diazepam, methadone and heroin in his system.

Assistant coroner Paul O'Donnell concluded Mr Benson died a drug-related death.

He said: "He had taken a cocktail of drugs in the hours leading up to his death and, while it may not have been unusual for him to mix prescription and illicit drugs, the levels of methadone, heroin and diazepam in his system were high and could be fatal on their own.

"He took more drugs than his body could cope with."