A 38-year-old man who had a history of substance misuse died from a drug-related death, an inquest has heard.

Kieran Smith was found unresponsive in his flat at the Ripley Project, on Rosary Road, Norwich, by a support worker on December 15, 2019, after he had not been seen for several hours.

At the full inquest into his death, held at Norfolk Coroner’s Court in Norwich on June 8, Yvonne Blake, area coroner for Norfolk, read evidence from a Ripley Project support worker, the police, Mr Smith’s mother and medics.

The support worker, who found Mr Smith in his bedroom on the evening of December 15, described him as “adorable”, she said: “Everybody loved him, the staff and all the residents. [He] was a kind a lovely person.”

The court heard how Mr Smith had struggled with heroin and alcohol addiction and had been in contact with Change Grow Live.

His medical cause of death was given as drug and alcohol toxicity.