A Wiltshire father tragically died after overdosing on codeine, an inquest in Salisbury has heard.

George Applegate, 42, was found by his partner on the floor of his bedroom on Friday, February 3 at their home in Hilperton Road, Trowbridge.

The inquest on Monday, October 2 was told Mr Applegate had been taking the opioid pain relief after injuring his right knee in a motorcycle accident.

As well as being prescribed the drug by his local GP, Dr Stephen Locke, he also obtained more supplies from the internet after becoming addicted to it.

Wiltshire and Swindon area coroner Ian Singleton heard that Mr Applegate used codeine on a regular basis and occasionally injected it intravenously after crushing up the tablets.

Codeine is generally prescribed for the short-term relief of mild to moderate pain and is not usually recommended for the treatment of chronic long-term pain.

His partner said Mr Applegate was taking two 30mg codeine tablets four times a day and had developed an addiction to them.

She was forced to monitor and control his use of the tablets because he had previously collapsed with respiratory problems after taking them intravenously.

She said: “I only gave it to him when he needed it and he was willing to do this because he was scared of the overdose. As far as I was concerned, there were no needles in the house.”

Mr Applegate was also taking a type of antidepressant used to treat depression and panic attacks.

He had also obtained a fast-acting and potent tranquiliser, from the internet to calm his anxiety after his doctor refused to prescribe it to him on the NHS because it was addictive.

The inquest was told the couple slept apart because Mr Applegate had sleep issues and this made it more difficult for her to monitor his actions.

On February 2 at 8am his partner went to wake him and found his door was locked.

She said: “I knew that something was wrong, because when he was smoking codeine he would often lock his door because he didn’t want me finding him.”

After banging on the door and shouting ‘wake up’ she busted it open and found him lying face down on the floor next to his desk.

She dialled 999 for an ambulance.

Her father , who had been visiting with her mother, said he had no response when he performed CPR as Mr Applegate was not breathing.

Within minutes paramedics arrived but said that “nothing could be done” for Mr Applegate.

Dr Locke said: “In my opinion, it seems most likely that this was an accidental death and a consequence once again of overuse of codeine, having previously done this already.”

Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Singleton said there was “no evidence” to suggest Mr Applegate had intended to take his own life. He ruled the cause of death was morphine toxicity and the use of codeine.