A VILLAGE parish council chairman died after a night out at his local pub.
An inquest at Chester Ellesmere Port and Neston Magistrates Court heard William Ramsey, 69, of Tarporley Road, Duddon, died in the early hours of January 24 from acute alcohol intoxication.
Mr Ramsey, a retired sales manager, was a frequent visitor to the Headless Woman pub after his wife, Elizabeth Rider, died of bowel cancer in September, 2007.
His sister, Diane Gillespie, said Mr Ramsey had cared for his wife in her final months, and had set up a golf tournament in her memory.
Mrs Gillespie gave Mr Ramsey a call at 7pm on the night he died, when he seemed his normal self.
She said: “We were discussing the businesses of the parish council’s day – community work was very important to him.”
Alan and James Edwards were with Mr Ramsey that night. Alan said: “I knew William for many years, and he was a regular attender of the local pub.
“He came in at about 10pm and at the end of the evening, at about 1.15am, He’d had quite a few drinks and was struggling to stand up.”
They carried Mr Ramsey back to his house, and put him to sleep in the recovery position in his conservatory, having been unable to get him upstairs to bed.
The following morning, there was concern for Mr Ramsey’s wellbeing and when friends arrived at his house, they found him lying on his back. He had been sick during the night and he was not breathing. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Assistant deputy coroner for Chester Dr Geoff Roberts ruled out suicide, saying: “There is no doubt in my mind that he had no intention of taking his own life from alcohol.”
Verdict: Accidental death.
