AN Accrington man whose body was found naked in an alleyway on Christmas Eve drowned, an inquest heard.

Blackburn Coroner's Court heard Naheem Ashraf's body was found face down at around 11.20am by a resident on wasteland near Hyndburn Road.

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The 40-year-old machinist, of nearby Frederick Street, had taken cocaine and drunk alcohol on a night out, unbeknown to his family, the coroner was told.

A police investigation discovered the final movements of Mr Ashraf, 60m from his home, were captured on CCTV.

Giving evidence to East Lancashire coroner Michael Singleton, DS Simon Upton said: “Either owing to the effects of hypothermia or his condition due to drink or drugs, Mr Ashraf has proceeded to take his clothes off.

“The CCTV shows your brother naked and stumbling at the end of Frederick Street. He is clearly unstable. As soon as he stands up he falls to the floor again.

“The second CCTV camera shows Mr Ashraf crawling over waste ground immediately adjacent to the house.

“He reaches the position where he was found the following morning.”

A pathologist said he found traces of alcohol and cocaine in Mr Ashraf’s bloodstream during a post-mortem examination.

Mr Singleton was told he found evidence that Mr Ashraf had inhaled water and mud.

Mr Ashraf’s brothers, Rizwan, Imram and Rohid, who attended the inquest at Blackburn Enterprise Centre, said they did not realise their brother was using drugs.

Rizwan Ashraf said: “He was a good brother and kept himself to himself.

“He was a good father. It is hard to talk about him.

“As a family we did not know he dabbled in cocaine or drank alcohol.”

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Singleton said Naheem Ashraf had drowned while lying face down.

Mr Singleton said: “In the early hours of December 24, Mr (Naheem) Ashraf collapsed on wasteland with his head in a pool of water but he lost consciousness and drowned.

“The conclusion that I reach is one of accidental death because there is no evidence to me that the cocaine was at a fatal level.

“What killed your brother was the tragedy of falling into a pool of water.

“It was falling face down which tragically caused your brother’s death.”