A 39-YEAR-OLD man took his own life in the bathroom of his friend’s house after they had spent the night drinking sherry together.

At an inquest into the death of Terry Bolan, coroner Richard Taylor said that on February 25, Mr Bolan had stayed with his friend, Shaun O’Brien at Shaun’s house in Devonport Court in Blackburn.

Mr Taylor said: “Mr Bolan lived in the same block of flats as Mr O’Brien and had been round to his house on the evening of February 25.

“The following morning, Mr O’Brien had gone into Blackburn town centre and returned at around 7pm, and found Mr Bolan suspended by a ligature in his bathroom.”

Following a post-mortem examination and toxicology test, it was determined that Mr Bolan’s medical cause of death was one of hanging.

There had been evidence of cocaine use but nothing else of any relevance that could have contributed to his death, the hearing was told.

In a statement from Mr O’Brien, he said: “I had known Terry for two or three years as we both lived close to each other.

“He would often stay over at my house and we would sometimes do drugs, such as cannabis, heroin and crack cocaine.

“Terry had previously talked about committing suicide, with the last time being about a week before he died as he said he was feeling low, and I tried to talk to him about it.

“He came round the night before with a bottle of sherry and we watched some TV and then he fell asleep on the chair, and I went to bed.

“The next day I went to Blackburn and had a very brief conversation with Terry before I left to go to town.

“When I came back at about 7pm, I noticed the bathroom light was on and the door was ajar.

"Then I saw Terry was lying on the floor with something round his neck.”

The inquest heard that the police were called and were satisfied there had been no suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr Bolan’s death.

A statement from Mr Bolan’s mother, June Bolan, read: “When he was younger he would experiment with numerous types of drugs and had spent time in rehab and had some counselling which seemed to work for a while.

“I hadn’t seen him for some years but would keep in contact with him by phone.

“I knew he had an injury to his back which left him in constant pain but this was controlled by medication.

“And at Christmas, he took an intentional overdose.”

In recording a suicide conclusion, Mr Taylor said: “This was a deliberate act, there doesn’t seem to be any other explanation.

“I make a finding that Mr Bolan died at Devonport Court on February 26, having suspended himself by the neck.”

If you have been affected by anything in this article, you can call the Samaritans free, on 116 123.