A father who had been out drinking on a Saturday night died after falling down the stairs and hitting his head, an inquest has heard.

Mark Goodwin, 45, was found dead at his home by his ex-partner on May 9, just 17 days after moving into the house in Accrington.

An inquest at Accrington Town Hall on Wednesday (September 21) heard how Zoe Hinchcliffe, the mother of one of Mark’s children, had tried to contact him on Sunday, May 8, but not heard back.

Zoe’s daughter also tried to text him and got no reply, which the family said was odd.

On the Monday morning, having still not heard back from him, Zoe went to his home and tried to go inside but the chain was on.

A neighbour helped her to get into the home and she, with her daughter, found Mark on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, with his dog Jack laid next to him.

Zoe took her daughter out of the room and realised when she went up to him that he had died and called 999.

PC Jack Bailey said the home was tidy but it appeared that Mark had been on a night out, with his keys, a kebab, and some chips on the kitchen side.

Having spoken with his sergeant, they determined there were no suspicious circumstances, believing Mark may have fallen down the stairs and hit his head on the kitchen worktop.

A CT scan performed by Dr Amin showed Mark had suffered an excessive subarachnoid haemorrhage.

A toxicology report found Mark had 245 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of blood, the legal drink drive limit being 80mcg, putting him three times over the limit - but there was no suggestion he had been driving on the night in question.

Coroner Kate Bissett determined Mark’s death was an accident from him falling down the stairs.

She said: “We know he was very drunk on that night. It was a tragic misstep on those stairs that cost him his life.”