A SALE father’s death was a “tragic accident”, an inquest heard.

Simon Ayoo, 46, a dentist with practices in Dublin and St Helens, was found dead in his Sale flat on Holmefield in February 2008.

Coroner John Pollard recorded a verdict of accidental death after the inquest at Stockport Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, February 16th heard that Mr Ayoo had died from positional asphyxia with alcohol intoxication.

The inquest heard how the newly-divorced father-of-two had been drinking heavily before his death on Saturday February, 22nd, at a friend’s house before getting a taxi to the centre of Manchester.

When he returned home it is believed that he fell down the stairs leading into his basement flat, where he was found by police on Tuesday, February 25th.

The exact time of death is unknown.

A toxicology examination revealed that Mr Ayoo was between three and four times over the legal limit for driving when he died.

Mr Ayoo was born in Eldoret, Kenya in 1962, and studied at Nairobi University before moving to the UK in 1995.

Friends and family described him as an intelligent, confident and sociable person who was in good health.

He had two children, Arnold and Nicola, with his wife Dr Margaret Maloba, but the pair separated 18 months before his death and were divorced on January 18th, 2008.

Dr Maloba, from Timperley, said My Ayoo’s life had started “spiralling out of control” after he left the family home and that he had begun drinking heavily, been convicted of drink driving and become involved in several relationships.

“He was living a life surrounded by alcohol,” she said.

But his girlfriend Juliet Bennett and sister Adah Ayoo both said Mr Ayoo did not drink to excess.

Detective Sergeant Frank Hayley, from Greater Manchester Police, said: “Mr Ayoo met his death as a result of a tragic accident.”