A RECOVERING drug addict overdosed on methadone and alcohol after an argument with his girlfriend, an inquest heard.

Alan Smith, aged 29, was found dead at his flat in Chorley New Road on June 23 last year.

Bolton Coroner's Court, sitting at Bolton Town Hall, heard that Mr Smith was a former heroin addict who was struggling with an addiction to alcohol.

The court also heard that he had suffered from depression and was particularly low because the fourth anniversary of his father's death was approaching and his drug problems had left him estranged from some members of his family.

Mr Smith's girlfriend, Caroline Sandiford, told the inquest that on the night before his death they had a rowed in the street and she left him to go to stay with her mother.

Mr Smith, who took a methadone overdose in May, was later seen outside his flat by neighbour Robert Nash, who said he was "very drunk" and started crying after talking about his father's death and his girlfriend breaking up with him.

He was found dead in his flat by a housing officer the following day. A post-mortem examination revealed he had 25 per cent more than the lethal dose of methadone in his blood.

Mr Smith also had significant traces of alcohol in his system.

Alan Walsh, Bolton's deputy coroner, recorded an open verdict.

He said: "He was clearly troubled by the death of his father. He had tried to take his own life in the past and come very close but I am not sure he actively intended to kill himself."