A 36-YEAR-OLD man was found dead in his flat by his mother, an inquest heard.

David Woodcock, 36, of Carr Road, Nelson, was found dead in his bed after a 'severe' fall by his 60-year-old mother on 19 September last year.

An inquest at Burnley Magistrates Court' heard David died following the fall which caused fractures to his lower ribs, bruising to his kidneys and blood loss.

Royal Blackburn Hospital consultant pathologist Muammer Al-Mudhaffer, who conducted the post-mortem examination, said: "There were no signs of violence or forced entry or disturbance at the address. It would have to have been a severe fall to cause his physical injuries."

Police were called to David's flat, where he lived for 13 years, after his mother had discovered her son's body. Officers reported seeing "empty bottles of vodka" strewn across his living room floor.

A toxicologist, who also studied the 36-year-old man's body after he died, later confirmed there was a large amount of alcohol found in his blood stream.

The inquest heard it was 'likely' that David fell down some stairs in his flat, while he was intoxicated, before getting to bed where he died.

Dr Al-Mudhaffer added David's body was found by his mother nearly seven days after he had died.

A neighbour said they had not seen David for a while and thought he had gone on holiday, while his employers in Nelson said David had not gone to work since August 11.

David's mother Barbara Turner said she last spoke to her son via text two weeks before she discovered his body.

After the inquest, Ms Turner said: "I found (David) and thought he had been there longer than seven days because of how he was.

"I could not tell you what was going on in my mind. I was in shock and I just wanted to get out.

"(David) was very quiet but everybody liked him. He was the kind of person who looked after everybody else and made sure they got home alright on a night out.

"I could not have wished for a better son."

Reading a conclusion that Mr Woodcock's death was 'accidental' and from an injury sustained in an 'unwitnessed fall', coroner Richard Taylor said: "He had too much to drink and suffered some sort of fall.

"It must have been fairly significant for the death to occur and (David) would not have known his kidney was damaged in the way it was nor that he was bleeding internally."