5:40am Thursday 2nd September 2010
HAMPSHIRE landlord died after developing complications linked to his alcoholism, an inquest heard.
Richard Affleck would drink up to three bottles of whisky a week ordered for his pub, The Boot Inn near Stockbridge, Winchester Coroner’s Court was told.
The 52-year-old landlord was found by the pub’s chef, John Starnley, when he started his shift on Monday, April 5.
Dr Adnan Al-Badri, a consultant pathologist, said because Mr Affleck had not eaten, his body had turned to his liver for carbohydrates.
Toxins from the organ – which was fatty due to his alcoholism – had infected his blood, causing his heart to stop, a condition known as ketoacidosis.
Peter Robinson, a Stockbridge butcher, who had known the publican for 25 years, said after yesterday’s inquest: “He was the most generous person and he lived his dream of running a country pub.
“We drank in his front room, as it were, and he treated it as such.”
Simon Burge, deputy coroner for central Hampshire, recorded a verdict of death due to natural causes.
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