A MAN sat on a Blackburn town centre bench with his dog at his side, drank a full bottle of whisky in less than ten minutes and then lay down and died.

An inquest heard that two other drinkers on a nearby bench raised the alarm, but not in time.

The two witnesses were the only people to attend the inquest, which was told there was no known next of kin to be informed.

Michael John Sims, 50, of Walter Street, Blackburn, suffered acute alcohol poisoning, which resulted in heart failure and shortage of blood to the brain, the inquest was told.

Arthur Orford, of Brookway, Blackburn, told how he was sharing a bottle of sherry with his friend Francis Granger, of Crosby Road, Blackburn.

Mr Sims came over and asked them if they would look after his dog while he went into Morrisons. He returned ten minutes later with a bottle of whisky, took his dog and went and sat back on his bench.

"I saw him drink all but an inch of the bottle in the next five or ten minutes," said Mr Orford. "I looked again and saw him slumped on his side and assumed he had fallen asleep."

Mr Granger went to check on Mr Sims and after finding his pulse was very weak rang for an ambulance.

Tests did not support an initial suggestion that the drink was spiked with methadone.