Mr James Bradbury (39), of Orpen Avenue, Rosehill, was found with a potentially lethal cocktail of drugs in his system, used to help battle his illness along with anxiety and heroin addiction.

He was found opposite Burnley Fire Station near to Leyland Road. Just a few days earlier his mum, Mrs Susan Bradbury, had seen him and said he was "looking fine".

"He had been quite poorly with his emphysema," said Mrs Bradbury. "He had to carry his inhaler with him everywhere because he was not very mobile without it.

"He had come out of prison in October and he was trying really hard. He had been back in hospital since then because of his breathing and had been due to see his doctor because he had been worried about his emphysema.

"He was looking forward to Christmas and seeing his niece. He would never take an overdose, he always promised me that he wouldn't. He knew what he was doing with his prescribed drugs and knew what he could take and what he couldn't take."

Consultant pathologist Dr Abdul Al-Dawoud revealed how Methadone, Alprazolam and Dihydrocodeine were all in Mr Bradbury's system. "The Methadone was at the high level of the therapeutic range while the alprazolam was above it," he said. "They all acted together along with the bronchopneumonia to cause his death."

Recording a verdict of accidental death, East Lancashire Coroner Mr Richard Taylor said he believed Mrs Bradbury when she said her son would never take an overdose.

"This isn't an overdose as such," he said. "It's somebody taking a little bit more of something they were already taking a lot of. There were a lot of contributing factors. He was very poorly at the time, it was incredibly cold and he was poorly clad. He had taken all his medication and one of the prescribed drugs he used had been over the therapeutic level. All have conspired tragically to cause his death."