A SOUTHAMPTON man died as a result of a drug overdose an inquest heard.

Thomas Mackey, 45, from Millbrook Road East was found dead in his one bedroom flat on March 18.

Winchester Coroners Court heard how Mr Mackey had a long history of drug misuse and was a regular heroine user.

A report from Dr Louise Dubras from the homeless healthcare team in Southampton said Mr Mackey had been homeless since October 2013.

She said he had a history of heroine misuse, breathing problems, heart problems and also had had heart surgery following a stab wound he suffered in 2004.

The hearing heard a report from project worker at Jordan House Inderjeet Singh.

It stated that just days before he died, staff at Jordan House in Millbrook were concerned for Mr Mackey’s health as he overdosed more than two times.

They checked on him every half an hour as a result of this, but Mr Mackey asked to be taken off these checks before his death A post mortem carried out by pathologist Sanjay Jogai discovered a needle in his groin, and a toxicology test done by Hampshire Scientific Services showed he had taken an extremely high amount of morphine.

Senior Coroner Grahame Short recorded a verdict of drug related death due to a morphine overdose and noted mixed modular cirrhosis and ischaemic heart disease as contributory factors.