A DISCARDED cigarette is believed to have caused a Nelson house fire which claimed the life of an ex- offender, an inquest heard.

Burnley Coroner’s Court was told Simon Peach, 45, had told a housing support worker he was going to burn his own house down.

Mr Peach was found dead by firefighters in his smoke-logged flat, in Essex Street, just after Christmas last year.

But an investigation by a senior fire officer has uncovered evidence that it was an accident.

Dr Zuhir Twage, a Burnley hospital pathologist, told the hearing that Mr Peach’s body contained four times the legal alcohol limit for driving at the time of his death.

His death was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, but the alcohol was a contributory factor, he added.

Fire service watch manager Paul Dunne, who investigated the incident, said it appeared a pile of clothes had caught fire in an upstairs bedroom.

The inquest heard the blaze probably ‘smouldered’ for up to three-and-a-half hours before the alarm was raised.

Rory Martin, a housing support worker for Foundation, a charity which provides accommodation assistance for ex-offenders, said: “He was threatening to burn his house down and slit his wrists.”

The inquest heard Mr Peach made efforts to find work, before his death, and reduced his level of drinking, but suffered a relapse.

Recording an accidental death verdict, East Lancashire cor-oner Richard Taylor said he accepted the evidence of the fire service regarding the likely origins of the fire.