An Algerian asylum seeker died after accidentally overdosing on anti-depressants - just weeks after he was granted leave to stay in the country.

Kada Souameur, 37, of Fern Hill Road, Oxford, was found slumped over a bed in a house in Lytton Road, Cowley, with a toxic level of amitriptyline in his blood on August 31, 2005.

Oxford coroner Nicholas Gardiner heard at an inquest today that Mr Souameur, who was an alcoholic and suffered from depression but had never been prescribed amitriptyline, was granted asylum that summer.

Mr Souameur, who lived with his brother Nadir Souameur, had been on a number of prescription drugs, including temazepam, and his drinking was such that he would sometimes suffer blackouts and falls.

A statement from Mr Souameur's psychiatrist, Dr Jessica Gibson, said Mr Souameur's depression had started in 2002 following the death of his father, when he had had thoughts of harming himself. She said: "I last saw him on June 23 when he was significantly improved in his mood."

The hearing was told that Mr Souameur had fled Algeria, where he had an alcohol retail business, in 1998 following fundamental religious harassment and had started drinking heavily when he came to England.

Pathologist Dr Nicholas Hunt said Mr Souameur had died of postural asphyxiation due to a mixture of alcohol, amitriptyline and temazepam intoxication.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Gardiner said: "I have heard nothing that suggests to me that he had any intention of ending his life."