A MAN who was “heavily intoxicated” died after falling into a cellar window, an inquest heard yesterday.

Roger Callow, 67, was found lying face-down in a gap outside a property in New Street, Deddington, near Banbury, in the early hours of May 23.

The retired kitchen assistant had last been seen leaving the nearby Crown and Tuns pub, where staff said he could not stand up without assistance after drinking heavily.

Oxfordshire Coroner’s Court heard how Mr Callow, of The Paddocks, Deddington, was a regular at the pub and had left shortly after midnight.

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Chartered accountant Peter Daniel, who lives about 50ft away from the pub, left his home to pick up his wife from the train station at 11.40pm and returned just under an hour later.

In a statement, Mr Daniel said he noticed a man lying with his head at the bottom of a 3ft hole in front of a cellar window next to his [Mr Daniel’s] front door, and dialled 999.

Mr Callow, who was single, had no pulse and despite attempts by paramedics to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead at the scene at about 1.30am.

Police believe Mr Callow may have tried using walls to guide himself as he left the pub because he was struggling to walk but fell because Mr Daniel’s home was further back from the footpath.

A post mortem examination found he had a large bruise on his head but this was not sufficient to kill him, while alcohol levels in his blood were four times the drink-driving limit.

Consultant pathologist Prof Ian Roberts said in a statement he died from positional asphyxiation due to alcohol intoxication and the head injury.

Coroner Darren Salter recorded a verdict of accidental death.

 

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