A VERDICT of accidental death was recorded on a 54-year-old man from Bricket Wood who died at his home after choking on his own vomit.

Mr Kenneth Puleston, of Russell Court in Blackboy Wood, was found dead at his home on the morning of Monday, October 15 by a home-help.

At the inquest on Monday, Coroner Edward Thomas heard how Mr Puleston had previously been treated for depression and had a history of alcoholism.

A post-mortem, however, revealed the level of alcohol in his body was not toxic.

The home-help found Mr Puleston at 11.25am lying dead on his kitchen floor after choking on his own vomit, but the court heard there was no evidence to suggest why he had been sick.

The court heard two of Mr Puleston's friends had seen him a few days before he died and said he had been complaining of feeling unwell.

In a statement read at the inquest, his friend, Mr Henry Smith, described Mr Puleston as a "friendly and happy person", but on the evening of Saturday, October 13, just a few days before he died, he had been "more down than usual".

They had met at Birchwood Club, where Mr Puleston was a regular, where he had been told Mr Smith and his girlfriend that he had been feeling sick and passing blood.

He also told him he thought his drinks were being spiked and had had to go outside during the course of the evening because he had felt dizzy.

Mr Puleston's doctor, Dr Aidan O'Reilly, said a post mortem revealed his respiratory system was congested, so that food was blocking his airways, causing him to stop breathing.

However, Dr O'Reilly said there was no real explanation why he should have been sick. He said: "It is very unusual but sometimes these things do happen and it was a natural event. It could have been a combination of factors which caused him to be sick but we can definitely rule out a third party."

November 6, 2001 19:51