A MAN found dead at the bottom of a stairwell tripped and drowned in six inches of rainwater which had collected at the bottom, an inquest heard. Andrew Said, 34, a scaffolder working on the Olympic site, was found collapsed in a stairwell to a service ar

A MAN found dead at the bottom of a stairwell tripped and drowned in six inches of rainwater which had collected at the bottom, an inquest heard.

Andrew Said, 34, a scaffolder working on the Olympic site, was found collapsed in a stairwell to a service area near the bottom of the Balfron Tower in St Leonard's Road, Poplar on the morning of Saturday, November 14.

An inquest at Poplar Coroner's Court today (Monday) heard how Mr Said had been drinking in the George IV Regency Hotel in Ida Street, Poplar before heading to his mother's house in Abbott Road where he was due to stay the night.

But he never arrived and his body was found at the bottom of the stairwell the next morning by the proprietor of Leonard's Store who was doing his daily check for vandalism or damage to his business.

A toxicology report revealed that Mr Said, who lived in Coleman Road, Dagenham but stayed with his mother when he worked on the Olympic site, had 3.7 grams of alcohol per litre of blood' which coroner Gail Elliman described as "very high".

Reading a report of the post mortem examination to the court, Ms Elliman said: "Even a habitual drinker would be severely intoxicated."

Recording a verdict of accidental death she said the case was "extremely sad" and "particularly unusual".

She added: "He fell down the stairs and sustained a head injury which caused him to lose consciousness and drown in the water which had collected at the bottom.