A man found his brother dead at his home in Bourton on the Water on Christmas Day after receiving a concerning text, an inquest heard.

Malcolm Lilley, 72, of Market Close, Bourton, sent the message about 'checking out now' on Christmas morning 2021 to his brother Timothy in Hampshire.

Timothy Lilley told the inquest today he was already planning to drive to Cheltenham that Christmas morning to see their mother but he then went to Malcolm's home and found him dead.

Although accepting that Malcolm's text had the appearance of a suicide note, the assistant Gloucestershire Coroner Roland Wooderson said he was not prepared to record a conclusion that he took his own life.

There had been a previous apparent suicide bid by drug overdose by Mr Lilley after which he admitted that it had just been an attempt to get the attention of medical services, said the coroner.

"I therefore have some difficulty recording a conclusion of suicide, on the balance of probabilities," said the coroner.

Instead he recorded a narrative conclusion stating the facts of what happened and the medical cause of Mr Lilley's death, which was alcohol and Diazepam toxicity.

Det Sgt Michael Rich of Gloucestershire Police said he was called to Mr Lilley's flat on December 25, 2021 at 1.30pm after receiving a report of a sudden death.

The post mortem report said Mr Lilley had consumed enough alcohol to cause drunkenness as well as Diazepam, a benzodiazepine drug prescribed for conditions such as anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome and insomnia.

Timothy Lilley stated that his brother had suffered alcoholism most of his life and also had cancer recently. He had recovered physically but still struggled emotionally. He described his brother as a 'fragile character.'

Timothy Lilley said he had last seen his brother in October 2021 when he had been 'fine.'

He arrived at his brother's flat at 10.20am and got no answer at the door so he went in and found him, he added.

The coroner said "Mr Lilley stated that he was very, very shocked about what he discovered. He believes that Malcolm took his own life."

A GP report on Mr Lilley from the Cotswold Medical Centre said he had a history of depression, he had been using benzodiazepines since he was in his twenties and he had taken an overdose in November 2021 and was taken to hospital.