A HOMELESS man who had been in and out of prison died after taking multiple drugs, an inquest found.

Kevin Docherty was discovered unresponsive at a property on Rydal Street in Carlisle on October 4, 2023.

The 44-year-old who had a history of drug and alcohol use, was ‘sofa-surfing’ after losing his place in supported accommodation due to alcohol use.

Cockermouth Coroners’ Court heard he had called his friend, Lincoln Abrahams on October 3 and was ‘very intoxicated’.

He had been staying at the home of Zara Richardson and had gone to her address with a Chinese takeaway.

The three of them drank some alcohol and were chatting. Mr Docherty was falling asleep while he ate his food. He told Mr Abrahams he had taken tablets.

They stayed up a while and then Ms Richardson went to bed, leaving Mr Docherty and Mr Abrahams downstairs.

In the early hours, Mr Abrahams realised Mr Docherty wasn’t snoring. He nudged him and saw he wasn’t breathing.

An ambulance was called but it was not possible to do anything to help Mr Docherty and he was pronounced dead.

The inquest was told that Mr Docherty would ‘drink every day from the moment he woke up’ and when he got paid, he would go and buy drugs.

Mr Abrahams said his friend was ‘very depressed’ and the drinking and substance misuse was his coping mechanism.

Mr Docherty’s grandmother, Eve Moore, said he began getting into trouble at secondary school and was ‘easily led’.

He left school at 16 and ‘never really had a job’. He was ‘in and out of prison’ and suffered with his mental health for a long time.

His grandmother said he struggled when he was in prison and didn’t want to be there but when he was out, he ‘couldn’t cope’.

Mr Docherty’s ‘chaotic lifestyle’ meant he didn’t engage with addiction services as much as he might have done.

A postmortem report revealed he had taken a number of drugs and had used alcohol. The cause of death was multiple drug intoxication.

Robert Cohen, assistant coroner for Cumbria, concluded that Mr Docherty’s death was drug-related. He passed on his sympathies to Mr Docherty’s family and friends.