A MAN from Barrow has died an alcohol-related death after years of struggling with his drinking, an inquest heard.

Derek Mould was 50-years-old when he died at his home in Egerton Court on November 9, 2018.

The inquest was attended by Mr Mould’s mother Susan who had provided a statement which was read out at Barrow Town Hall. It mentioned how Derek was born in Colwyn Bay in Wales and that he grew up in Wrexham and lived a normal childhood before joining the Royal Air Force in his late teens.

When mentioning his time at the RAF, it read: “Derek appeared to be drinking heavily when we visited him at his base in Uxbridge. He was later thrown out of the RAF for his drinking issues.”

The statement went on to talk about some of Derek’s other jobs he did before moving to Cumbria with work and then later moved to Millom with girlfriend Stacy Woodburn who “was into alcohol and drugs”.

The inquest heard in the statement that Derek had continued to drink heavily and had increasing health issues which saw his mobility decline. Stacy became his carer for a while until their split in August 2018.

Mr Mould’s interaction with social services was outlined by occupational therapist Jo Brown in a statement which highlighted his refusal to accept help and that most of their dealing with him came over the telephone, with only one face to face interaction.

This statement and the one given by police indicated that Mr Mould’s hygiene and living conditions were poor as the inquest heard numerous time that the flat “smelled heavily of urine and cat faeces”.

The post mortem report read: “A lot of alcohol was in his system, 350ml per decimetre of blood which is four and a half times over the driving limit.”

The toxicology report also showed central nervous system drugs which impacted on his respiratory system.

In his statement, coroner Nicholas Shaw, said: “He has clearly been immobile for a while as he rolled out of bed and was holding his bodyweight on his neck.

“In that situation you cannot breathe well normally, but he had alcohol plus other medication that repressed the respiratory system. He was probably semi-upside down for hours.

“I would say he has a long history of alcohol problems and he repeatedly refused offers of health which led to his care being sub-optimal. I feel he had the mental capacity to make these decisions.

“As a result I believe he died due to alcohol toxicity which makes this an alcohol related death.”