A STUDENT who killed himself had drunk alcohol and smoked cannabis in the hours before his death, an inquest heard.

Andrew Peter Allen, 23, was found dead at his home in St John’s Road, Burnley, on March 25 this year.

His mum Alison Allen told the inquest at Burnley coroner's court that Andrew, a former pupil at Ightenhill Primary and Ivy Bank High School, had suffered mental health problems which had got worse before his death.

She said: “He had spent six months in Australia as part of a course at Myerscough College and absolutely loved it.

“It was the first time he had found something he wanted to do and I was delighted.

“As soon as he got back he wanted to go back to Australia.”

But after that Andrew’s mental health deteriorated in his final year at college, and he began smoking a lot of cannabis.

Mrs Allen said: “I think he had smoked a lot of cannabis in Australia and his behaviour had become quite erratic and he was paranoid.

“I was never sure if this was induced by the cannabis or it was just him, but even as a child he liked to spend a lot of time on his own.”

The inquest was told that Andrew had made three previous suicide attempts, and had left a note with one of those, although he didn’t leave a note this time.

He had also told his family that he was ‘not afraid to die’ in the weeks before his death.

Mrs Allen said: “He had started pushing help away towards the end which was very difficult for everyone. People around him just wanted to help him.”

The coroner, Richard Taylor, recorded a verdict that Andrew took his own life while suffering from depression.