A Horwich man who was found dead near the M61 in January died from a ‘chemical perfect storm’ of drugs, an inquest has heard. Stephen Leyland died aged 47 in the late hours of January 7, after walking two miles from the address of his former partner. Bolton Coroners’ Court heard that Stephen’s body had been discovered by an HGV driver in the morning of January 8, but – despite efforts to carry out CPR – he was unable to be saved.
Coroner Timothy Brennand said he wanted to commend fellow HGV driver James Ruaux for his ‘fortitude’ in acting on instructions to carry out CPR. Pathologist Dr Charles Wilson gave evidence that Stephen had undiagnosed ischemic heart disease, with up to 70 per cent narrowing of one of his three coronary arteries. Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest stories sent straight to your inbox.
Stephen had a combination of prescribed drugs in his body, including pregabalin and tramadol, as well as cocaine, cannabis, and bromazolam. However, despite the pregabalin these were all at therapeutic levels or recreational levels. Dr Wilson said: “If you add drugs together that have a depressant effect on the brain, the risk of toxicity increases, the bad effects on the brain are effectively additive.
” Despite being out on a cold January night, the court heard that Stephen had gone out in just a polo shirt before walking two miles. Dr Wilson added: “It’s quite possible someone wearing only a polo shirt in winter could become dangerously.