A HAY-ON-WYE man died from alcohol and methadone poisoning as his friend slept nearby, an inquest heard.

Paul Greenway awoke at 11am last July to find neighbour Christopher Parrett, aged 36, crouched between the seats in his caravan at the Hollybush Inn near the town.

Paramedics arrived 10 minutes later and discovered Mr Parrett, who had lived in a caravan nearby for more than three years, had been dead for some time.

In a statement to Brecon Law Courts last Tuesday, Mr Greenway said he fell asleep at 3am when Mr Parrett had been sitting opposite him as they sat up drinking.

A post mortem found the cause of death to be methadone and alcohol poisoning.

Coroner Peter Maddox said methadone was not prescribed to the deceased but that no-one else was involved and recorded a verdict of misadventure.

“There is no evidence at all that Mr Parrett took the substances that he did with the intention of doing harm to himself,” he said.