Narborough Fisheries manager died days after pet snake bite

Russell Peberdy, who ran Narborough Fisheries near King's Lynn, was found unresponsive in the manager's cabin at the beauty spot on September 14.

Despite the efforts of his brother Christopher and his partner to perform CPR on him, he died at the site.

An inquest into his death held in Norwich heard that Mr Peberdy had died of a combined toxicity of drugs, having spent several years striving to overcome addiction.

However, the court also heard that two days earlier he had self-discharged from hospital against medical advice after being bitten by his pet reptile - a mildly venomous Madagascan cat-eyed snake.

In a statement read to the court, his father Ian Peberdy shared tragic details of his son's life, including how in his late teens he had lost three friends in a car crash - which he felt may have contributed to his mental health struggles in later life.

He added that Mr Peberdy had first started taking cannabis when he was 15, but that this had led to him discovering stronger substances.

The court heard that the 34-year-old had made several attempts to overcome his demons, including a three-month detox course and care from Change Grow Live (CGL), the organisation which provides the region's drug and alcohol services.

Ann Fitzgerald, from CGL, said a week before his death he discharged himself from the organisation's care and was "extremely proud" of the progress he had made.

But evidence was heard he had ketamine and heroin in his system when he died.

Concluding he had died a drug-related death, area coroner Yvonne Blake said: "He had been bitten by a snake which was mildly venomous and received some treatment for that but there was no evidence to say that had anything to do with his death."