A YOUNG man lay dead in his flat for a week before he was discovered, an inquest heard.

Police found Richard Voase, 25, lying face-up on his bed on July 14 after being called to his Bow home by a worried friend, Poplar Coroners court was told.

Officers originally called in the murder squad after finding blood splattered on the walls and carpet of the Fairfield Road property, but later investigations ruled out the involvement of a third party.

The blood was said to be from a head wound that could have contributed to Mr Voase’s death, the inquest was told.

Mr Voase worked successfully as a salesman before his life started to spiral out of control when he began taking drugs in 2007.

In a cruel twist of fate, he signalled he was finally ready to give up his vices the day before his death on July 7.

Mr Voase’s mother Cordelia Nixon said her son had called her to say he wanted to turn his life around.

She told the court, in Poplar High Street, today: “He spoke very honestly and said, ‘I really want to get better’. It was the most positive feedback I’d had from Richard in an awfully long time.”

Friend and neighbour Marta Del-Valle said Mr Voase had several bad falls in the weeks before his death.

His former flatmate Steven Agopian explained how he’d tripped and hurt his head on a shard of glass from a window pane that had shattered at the end of May.

Recording an open verdict, coroner Suzanne Greenaway said she could not be certain of the cause of death because the body was had started to decompose.

His drug use, which included liquid ecstasy and crystal meth, the head injury he sustained or natural causes were named as possible reasons.