A PAINTER and decorator was found naked wearing a gas mask after dying in a ‘tragic accident’.

The handyman from Stonesfield, near Witney, is thought to have passed away at his home on May 31 following an apparent sexual experiment gone wrong.

An inquest into the 64-year-old’s death took place at Oxford Coroners’ Court, where the cause was given as asphyxia associated with inhalation of butane gas.

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The court heard how the painter's dad raised the alarm after visiting the house in The Cross on the evening of June 1 and receiving no reply when he knocked on the front door.

With the help of neighbours he hooked a key from inside the property, before finding his son lying on a bed in an upstairs room.

The inquest heard how the resident’s mask was attached to a cylinder of butane gas and he was unable to be revived.

The court was told that examinations of his phone by police officers found recent internet searches relating to inhaling gas with a sexual motive.

Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter said there was ‘no evidence’ of suicidal intent and gave a verdict of accidental death.