A CREWE man suffering from schizophrenia died after an allergic reaction to his medication, an inquest was told.

Jonathan Butler, 48, of Preece Court, died in Leighton Hospital after collapsing while shopping in Crewe on July 28, 2006.

At the inquest in Crewe on Friday, his mother Gladys Butler spoke of how her son had begun to show signs of mental illness not long after leaving school and began to distance himself from family and friends.

'He seemed to be lonely but wanted it that way, I think,' said Mrs Butler.

Deputy Cheshire coroner Dr Janet Napier, heard evidence from Alison Buckley, of Crewe's Assertive Outreach Team, who organised Mr Butler's care in the community.

She said: 'He would not let anybody in the house, and we would see him on the doorstep or through the window.

'It was not uncommon for these visits to be unsuccessful at the first attempt, but I would say the visits were quite successful and we were engaging with him.

'He was taking his medication, as far as I knew.'

Hours after Mrs Buckley's last visit on July 28 last year, Mr Butler died after collapsing in Crewe town centre. A post-mortem revealed he had an acute fatty liver, although he drank very little.

Consultant Dr David Butterworth said Mr Butler had suffered a reaction to one of the anti-schizophrenic drugs he was taking at the time, including Sertraline, Atorvastatin, and Quetiapine.

'Initially he collapsed due to the liver failure. It's just one of those things that comes out of the blue.

'There's no way of picking out which patients are more at risk than others, it's almost like an allergic reaction.'

Coroner Dr Napier recorded a verdict of death by misadventure and ordered a report on the medication be filed.