A 63-YEAR-OLD Accrington man died as a result of a lifetime of alcohol abuse.

An inquest heard that James George Astley, of Gordon Avenue, still carried on drinking when his body lost its ability to cope with his excesses.

The dead man's brother, Peter Astley, said James had started drinking at an early age and eventually became an alcoholic.

And when the coroner asked if he had anything else to say he replied: "I think the alcohol has done all the talking here."

The inquest heard that at the time of his death Mr Astley had four times the legal drink-drive limit of alcohol in his blood.

"He had consumed alcohol to such an extent that his body's ability to cope with it had been compromised to such an extent that it led to his death," said coroner Michael Singleton who recorded a verdict of misadventure.