DRUG addict Matthew Brzozowski died in a supermarket stairwell after an overdose, an inquest heard.

The 26-year-old was found at Tesco in Hanley on October 31 last year.

An inquest into his death heard yesterday that he had been staying at a hostel in Hope Street, Hanley, before his death.

On the day that he died, he went into Hanley with another hostel resident, Graham Simmill.

In his police statement, which was read out at the inquest, Mr Simmill said they had both bought alcohol before returning to the hostel and being refused entry because they had been drinking.

He said: "I was quite drunk. We both were."

The pair then went their separate ways and little is known of Mr Brzozowski's movements until his body was discovered in a stairwell of the New Hall Street store later that night.

He was found slumped on one of the steps by rough sleeper Trevor Fitzherbert shortly after 11.30pm.

Mr Fitzherbert, who was planning to sleep in the stairwell which connects the shop to its multi-storey car park, then alerted Tesco staff who called the emergency services.

The inquest heard Mr Brzozowski's body was stiff by that time and he had probably been dead around an hour.

Police officers attended the scene but quickly ruled out any third-party involvement with his death.

Among the items lying near Mr Brzozowski was a syringe and toxicology tests found opiates and methadone in his system.

Mr Brzozowski would also have been around one-and-a-half times over the legal drink-driving limit.

His mother, Gail Fallows, said during the inquest that she saw little of her son in the few years before his death.

But she knew he had a troubled past with drink, drugs including heroin, spells in prison and arguments with family members.

When Mr Brzozowski wasn't in prison, he would often go to relatives in the Newcastle area.

Ms Fallows, who lives in Oldham, said: "He was stealing from us. If it wasn't stuck down it would go.

"He had a horrible relationship with his dad. They just didn't get on and were always fighting."

North Staffordshire coroner Ian Smith gave a narrative verdict and said the cause of death as fatal opiate/opioid toxicity with alcohol ingestion.

He told Mr Brzozowski's family: "It wouldn't have been painful. He would just have gone unconscious, into a coma then would have died.

"If it is any consolation, he wouldn't have known anything about it."

Mr Smith added: "A lot of these deaths with people who unfortunately take drugs are like a cat with nine lives. Eventually they run out. Maybe the heroin he took was a little bit stronger than he was used to."