Pensioner died of hypothermia after falling at home
A pensioner died from hypothermia after falling over in his home and asking his wife to leave him there.
Michael Plant, 71, from Wombourne, died on January 15 at his home following a heavy drinking session with his wife.
The pair had begun drinking heavily after their son had died six months prior, leading Mr Plant to take up drinking a bottle of vodka a day, while his wife would drink half a bottle, the inquest heard.
On the evening of January 14, the couple had been in their home when Mr Plant asked his wife to help him get up out of his chair.
As she tried to pull him up, he fell over, before telling her to leave him where he was rather than help him get back up.
Despite hitting his head as he fell, Mr Plant suffered no injuries and his wife stayed by his side until 4am, when she went to bed.
She then came down again the next morning, to find him still breathing, before going out to Wombourne village.
When she came back she believed that he was still alive, however after realising later that he hadn't moved for a number of hours, she called the police, who arrived to confirm that he had died.
Giving evidence at Cannock Coroners Court, DC Neil Poutney of Staffordshire Police said: "There are very sad circumstances surrounding this death.
"Mr Plant had confided in his doctor in December that he was not looking forward to Christmas and was in a generally low mood.
Coroner Andrew Haigh delivered a verdict of accidental death and noted that hypothermia had been a contributing factor.
He said: "The death of their son had a traumatic effect on Mr and Mrs Plant, leading them to both drink excessively.
"There was a relatively low alcohol reading in Mr Plant's urine and alcohol was not present in his blood, so this was not an instance where he had drunk too much.
"I would like to express my deepest sympathies to his family for their tragic loss."
