A father has paid tribute to his son who died after suffering severe head injuries following a fall down a flight of stairs.

Gavin Alderton, 39, suffered the fall at his partner’s home in Ipswich.

An inquest into his death heard he had knocked on the door, asking to go to the toilet, at around 8pm on November 11, 2018.

Paramedics were called shortly after and arrived to find Mr Alderton, from Ipswich, lying on the floor with blood coming from an injury on the back of his head.

They called for a further ambulance crew to attend after realising the severity of his injuries and rushed him to Ipswich Hospital.

Medical tests showed the extent of Mr Alderton’s injuries and the 39-year-old was taken to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridgeshire where he underwent emergency surgery to release pressure on his brain, however, he did not improve and doctors withdrew his life support a day later.

Mr Alderton died surrounded by his family on November 13.

At an inquest at Suffolk Coroners Court in Ipswich, senior coroner Nigel Parsley heard how the Ipswich man had a long history of alcohol dependency, but had improved in recent times, getting a job as a support worker at Turning Point.

His father, Andre Alderton, said: “I was a proud father.

“He had turned his life around and he had got a job. People used to say to him,’what are you doing working here?’.

“He had been through it himself so knew what it was like.

“It was the best time of his life and I was so proud of him. We all were.”

The court heard how a forensic pathologist had found that Mr Alderton was under the influence of alcohol at the time of his fall.

Toxicology found that he had 361mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The drink drive limit is 80.

Closing the hearing, Mr Parsley recorded a narrative conclusion as he could not ascertain exactly how Mr Alderton fell down the stairs.

He said: “Gavin died of injuries received in a fall down a flight of stairs.

“At the time of the fall Gavin was heavily intoxicated but the circumstances surrounding the fall cannot be ascertained from the evidence heard.”

He recorded the medical cause of death as a severe head injury.

Following his conclusion, Mr Parsley passed on his condolences to the family and thanked them for their help with the hearing.