Man died after falling into canal inside tent, inquest hears
A man discovered dead inside a tent which was in a canal had high levels of alcohol in his blood, an inquest heard.
Ricky Broughton, aged 30, placed his tent on a bank metres from the edge of Trent and Mersey Canal, off Newcastle Road, Stone.
Cannock Coroner's Court heard he had been fishing with his uncle on May 23 and intended to sleep overnight by the canal on his own before waking early the next day to continue.
But West Midlands Police received a call from a dog-walker who spotted the tent and Mr Broughton's body in the canal.
Mr Broughton, of Walton Grange, off Stafford Road, Stone, was later found to have 294 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The alcohol limit for drivers is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
Senior Assistant Coroner, Mrs Margaret Jones, said she believed Mr Broughton had fallen asleep and may have rolled with the tent into the canal. She concluded he died as a result of an accident.
She said: "What happened was a very tragic accident. He has gone with his uncle fishing, they had probably had a lovely day together and his mother had popped to see him.
"He had taken a lot of alcohol. I think he found himself in a situation from which he could not escape and led to his death."
