A CORONER has decided that he cannot be sure how a Pendle pensioner - whose body was found in the Leeds Liverpool canal - met his death.

Retired Smith Pickles, 85, was discovered in the waterway at Earby on May 21 last year by two passers-by, Burnley Coroner's Court was told.

An inquest heard that Mr Pickles had a history of depression and his walking stick was found on the canal bank afterwards.

But post-mortem examinations later showed that Mr Pickles, of Napier Street, who was taking anti-depressants, had a higher than expected dose of the medication in his system before his death.

Consultant pathologist Dr Zuhir Twage said the therapeutic dose of the drug was between 50 and 150mg, but the reading for Mr Pickles was around 220mg.

The dilution processes incurred during drowning could also have reduced these levels by around 25 per cent, the doctor said.

East Lancashire coroner Richard Taylor said that the higher level of the medication could have affected the deceased's balance and caused him to fall.

His son John told the inquest that his father would often go for long walks beside the canal, in previous years.

Though he had a history of depressions, he had made no mention of wanting to deliberately harm himself before he took a taxi to the canal, said Mr Pickles.

Coroner Mr Taylor recorded an open verdict and said: "No-one heard a splash and no-one saw him fall in. He could have slipped, been pushed or jumped in."