A HUDDERSFIELD man was found dead in his flat after taking a lethal cocktail of alcohol and prescription drugs.

Dorian Merrick’s body was found by police after being alerted by a neighbour.

Empty packets of painkillers were found nearby in the flat at Buxton Court in Huddersfield town centre.

A post-mortem examination revealed that the 44-year-old had overdosed on a mix of codeine and alcohol.

The Huddersfield inquest heard that Mr Merrick had a long history of depression and alcohol abuse.

He suffered from epilepsy since banging his head eight years previously and was prone to fits as a result.

The unemployed man had taken several overdoses but had always refused further treatment when seen by medics.

The Huddersfield inquest heard that in October last year, tests at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary revealed a cyst on Mr Merrick’s pancreas.

However, he discharged himself without finding out how serious it was. He told doctors he was worried about further tests but denied contemplating suicide.

On November 2, Mr Merrick’s neighbour John Gorman said he saw him with tablets and a bottle of drink.

He said he had threatened to kill himself but he hadn’t taken his claims seriously as he had heard them many times before.

The following day Mr Gorman called police to his friend’s flat after being unable to contact him.

Mr Merrick’s body was found lying on the couch surrounded by empty strips of the painkiller codeine.

A post-mortem examination revealed that he died from respiratory failure after overdosing on a large amount of codeine and alcohol.

Richard Sykes, principal analyst at West Yorkshire Analytical Services, said: “These are nervous system depressants and would have had a toxic effect.”

The post-mortem also showed that Mr Merrick had been suffering from pancreatic cancer, which would have contributed to his death.

Coroner Roger Whittaker recorded that Mr Merrick had intended to take his own life.