A MAN died from asphyxia after falling through the rotten stairs of his Cradley home, an inquest has heard.

Mervyn Parkes, aged 67, was found dead by police on October 31 after they entered his home following a concerned call from his cousin who had not heard from him for a while.

Black Country Coroners Court was told that Mr Parkes, a Stourbridge-born accountant, had fallen through the stairs at his Hillcrest Avenue home – which was described as being in a ‘very poor state’ – after using stepladders on the stairs.

A post mortem reported Mr Parkes’ cause of death as positional and traumatic asphyxia and early hyperthermia.

Assistant coroner Laura Nash, who concluded the death was accidental, said it looked as though Mr Parkes had been there for “some time”.

“The position of the body was that Mr Parkes was faced down on the floor, which would have led to the asphyxia – his cause of death.”

She added: “May I take this opportunity to express my condolences to Mr Parkes’ family and friends."