John was 'just a nice person'

11:16am Friday 16th May 2008

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AN ALCOHOLIC who wrestled with his addiction for years died after taking a fatal cocktail of medication and booze, an inquest heard yesterday.

John Sharpe was discovered dead by his father, lying next to his bed, face down on plastic carrier bag on September 11, last year, at his parent's home in Scrubbitts Square, Radlett.

The 43-year-old, who waged a long battle with alcohol, had been prescribed anti-depressants to help him overcome his addiction, but died of heart failure after mixing the treatment drug with alcohol - seven empty Stella cans were found next to his body.

Blood tests revealed he had 335mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system when he died - more than four times over the legal limit.

Traces of the prescribed drugs were also found in urine and blood samples, and a post mortem revealed failure to the right-hand-side of the heart.

John's death came as quite a shock to his family who believed he was on the road to recovery.

His father-in-law told the court: "I met him two weeks before he died with his children and we had a fantastic time together. You wouldn't have known there was anything wrong with him.

"He was just a nice person, I'm sure that not many people would have known he had a problem."

His ex-wife Debra said her children also reported he was doing really well'.

"He was back to the dad they knew," she said.

The coroner, who recorded his death as accidental, concluded: "This was unintended and unwanted.

He didn't drink himself to death, actually he had a disease."