A CREWE health carer died when he fell down the stairs after drinking excessive amounts of vodka, an inquest heard.

John Kerrigan Chambers, 38, suffered a fatal brain trauma on June 3 after tripping over his trousers and plunging down the stairs of his Stal-bridge Road flat.

He was found by close friend Linda Savage. The hearing was told she had been very concerned by his alcohol dependency and had sought help from the doctors at Leighton Hospital.

Miss Savage, of Sound Lane, Nantwich, had become friends with Mr Chambers after he cared professionally for her autistic son.

She said: 'I found him at the bottom of the stairs. It looked like he had been getting ready for bed.

'Often I wouldn't dare leave him on his own because I knew he would try to go out and buy more alcohol. Sometimes he would drink two bottles of vodka a day.'

The hearing at Crewe's Municipal Buildings on Wednesday heard how Mr Chambers had fought against alcohol addiction for more than 12 years and had attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

But while his family were on holiday in Spain, he became very ill.

Miss Savage told the hearing that Mr Chambers had drunk vodka on top of his medication Librium, used to treat his anxiety and alcohol withdrawal.

Toxicologist Dr David Bosworth found a very high concentration of alcohol in Mr Chambers' blood and concluded that a normal person would have died purely from such alcohol levels.

Deputy Coroner Denise Milliard recorded a verdict of accidental death and added: 'Mr Chambers had fought to beat his alcohol problem and at times things looked positive.

'But the devil of alcohol is all too common and even with the tremendous help of family and friends, it is incredibly difficult to sort out.'