A TADLEY man was found dead in front of his armchair, an inquest heard.

The inquest in Alton heard that David McIntosh was found in the lounge of his home in Wigmore Road on December 11 last year, with a half-empty bottle of brandy by his side.

A post-mortem revealed that the 58-year-old had 333 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood in his system when he died – more than three times the drink-drive limit.

The examination also revealed he had a cardiomyopathy – a disease of the heart muscle that can be associated with the effects of long-term alcohol abuse.

His widow Denise McIntosh told the inquest she and her son moved to Andover because of her husband’s behaviour when drunk.

She said: “When he was sober, he was lovely. He would not hurt a fly. He was always kind to us and everyone else. But once the alcohol got in him, it was like Jekyll and Hyde.”

Mrs McIntosh said she called the police after her husband missed a hospital appointment and did not answer his phone. Tadley beat officer PC Dean Stickland found Mr McIntosh’s body.

Andrew Bradley, coroner for North East Hampshire, recorded a verdict of death by natural causes, citing Mr McIntosh’s heart condition.