A mechanic from Polperro died after a party at a friends house, an inquest heard. Matthew Winterton, 22, was described as a 'lovely lad' by friends after his tragic death. Mr Winterton was found by his friend Jake Fletcher the morning after a party at their home at Kellow Hill, Polperro, on September 22 last year. Mr Fletcher recalled: 'At about 9.45am I went into the spare bedroom. I saw Matthew lying on his side in the bed. I tapped him and said, "Wake up," but he did not move. 'He was blue and I thought he was already dead. We did CPR but when the paramedics arrived they confirmed he was dead.' Jake's brother Joseph told the inquest in Truro: 'Matthew liked his drink. He was not an alcoholic but at weekends he did hit it hard. 'That night, my brother and sister held a party. We drank copious amounts of alcohol. Everyone was having a good time. At around 2.30am Matthew said, "I want to stay here tonight." He was so drunk he could not walk. He was out of it. We carried him to the spare room and laid him on the bed. About 15 minutes later I looked in on him. He was snoring loudly; I had no concerns and left the house.' Paramedics found Mr Winterton had choked on his own vomit and a police investigation concluded that there was no evidence the victim's drink had been spiked. A post-mortem report concluded: 'Matthew was extremely drunk. His blood alcohol was at a level which could be independently fatal. The cause of death was Acute Alcohol Toxicity.' Coroner Emma Carlyon said: 'Mr Winterson's death was due to drinking to excess. I record that Matthew died due to an accident.' After the inquest Matthew's friend Joseph Fletcher described him as 'a lovely lad.' He said: 'Nobody who knew him could say a bad word about him.'
