A man whose body was found alongside wilted plants inside his locked flat earlier this year had not been heard from for more than a month, an inquest has heard.

Steven Hurst was found dead in his flat in Argyle Street in Norwich on Monday, May 18, after a friend had raised concerns about him with the police, having not spoken to him since March.

Officers found his property locked and were forced to gain entry after receiving no response to their calls and hearing from neighbours that they had also not seen him in a while.

Senior coroner Jacqueline Lake heard how Mr Hurst, 50, had returned from visiting his mother in Liverpool on March 25 and that his last bank transaction came on March 31 - but that neither friends nor family had spoken to him after this date.

Ms Lake concluded that he had died a drug-related death, with his medical cause of death given as cocaine and heroin poisoning.