Bradford man, 30, drank himself to death on three litres of cola a day

Paul Inman, 30, would walk to shops to buy the fizzy drink many times a day. He would also down glasses of water to quench his thirst.

But the huge quantities of cola and other drinks caused his lungs to swell to four times the normal weight and he died in his sleep.

His excessive drinking was driven by him suffering from Aspergers Syndrome which manifested itself in his behaviour, the hearing in Bradford was told.

Mr Inman lived in a flat at Three Sisters Care Home, Haworth, where he was found dead in his bedroom by a care worker on March 10 last year.

Detectives and scenes-of-crimes officers who went to investigate the sudden death found there were no suspicious circumstances.

The inquest heard Mr Inman never stayed still, care staff had to keep his cigarettes so he would not smoke 20 in one hour, he would pace up and down continually, could go through two pairs of trainers a week and would walk to nearby shops to buy his cola.

He would drink about two to three litres of the drink a day, plus quantities of water.

When he was 17 Mr Inman was diagnosed with schizophrenia but when his case was reviewed in 2008 doctors then diagnosed that he suffered from Aspergers – a form of autism.

Assistant deputy Bradford Coroner Dr Domninic Bell recorded a verdict that Mr Inman had died of natural causes.

Experts have found drinking large quantities of cola could lead to muscle problems, an irregular heartbeat and bone weakness.