Dad dies minutes after sitting down to eat sandwich
Lee had been out to the Rishton Workmens Club one evening in January this year. After spending the night there with friends, including his housemate Andrew Aspinall, 55-year-old Lee returned to his home in High Street, LancsLive reports.
Andrew stayed at the club, but later followed his friend home and found Lee led on his back in the kitchen. Lee was cold to the touch and Andrew 'realised he was dead'. Lee's death was confirmed by paramedics who arrived a short while later.
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An inquest held at Preston Coroners' Court heard Lee, who had three daughters and a son, was 'well-known and well-liked in Rishton and Blackburn' and had the nickname 'Eggy'. He was described by friend Andrew as 'a lovely lad'.
In a statement Andrew said: "We tended to leave the door unlocked for each other. When I got home the door was unlocked. I found Lee lying flat on his back. There was half a butty and a yoghurt left on the table. His skin was cold and I realised Lee was dead."
A post mortem revealed Lee had died from aspirational pneumonia which, assistant coroner Sian Jones said 'in layman's terms, he choked on his own vomit'.
Lee was also 'profoundly intoxicated', pathologist Dr Neil Papworth said, which had left him more susceptible to aspirating the contents of his stomach.
He likely vomited 'very soon after' he had started eating his sandwich, with some of the ingredients recognisable in Lee's lungs, the court heard.
Although Lee was intoxicated, with a blood alcohol reading of 195mcg - the drink-driving limit being 80mcg for reference - this was 'not within the range encountered in deaths caused by alcohol alone', the pathologist said.
The coroner returned a conclusion of an alcohol-related death and said: "The picture is clear of one where Lee had consumed sufficient alcohol to be considered significantly intoxicated to a point where the body's natural ability to protect itself and its airways were likely to be compromised."
After Lee's death his mates set up a page on Facebook to share happy memories. Friend Gen Wild posted: "He had a heart of gold and a brilliant personality."
Another pal, Andy Holmes, wrote: "Your positive vibes often picked me up when I would read your posts. You would always try your best for others and your positive energy will always be remembered."
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