THE FAMILY of a 36-year-old man who died of a heart attack were not aware of his ongoing battle with drugs, an inquest heard.

Robert Frank Flavell, of Arthur Avenue, Ellesmere Port died on January 9 after suffering a massive heart attack.

During the inquest into his death, held at Chester Magistrates Court on Monday, July 9, coroner Nicholas Rheinberg heard how Mr Flavell had endured a 15-year struggle with heroin addiction, including spells in rehab.

But his mother had no idea just how bad his drug problems were and the details being read out in court came as a shock to her.

Mr Flavell was being given prescriptions for methadone but he continued to use cocaine recreationally.

In the days leading up to his death, he had been complaining of chest pains which he thought was indigestion.

He had also been diagnosed with diabetes in 2002 but had difficulty managing his condition.

Throughout 2008 he was receiving treatment for Hepatitis C, which his GP, Dr Catherine Wall, said was very likely to have been caused by intravenous drug use.

A toxicology report showed that he had methadone and cocaine in his system when he died, something which Mr Rheinberg said had “played a part” in his death.

Verdict: Mr Flavell died as a result of a heart attack to which drug use, Hepatitis C and diabetes contributed.