TWO West Somerset people died in their homes in the space of less than a month after they each took fatal doses of heroin.

Inquests into the deaths of Christopher Handley and Antony Smith, who was known as Tony, were conducted by Somerset Senior Coroner Samantha Marsh.

Mr Handley, aged 62, was found dead in The Beach Hotel, The Avenue, Minehead, on September 15 last year.

Mr Smith, aged 54, was discovered in his flat in Little Silver Court, The Cross, Watchet, on October 11 the same year.

Mrs Marsh was told Mr Handley, who worked as a gardener, had a long history of heroin dependence.

She heard unemployed Mr Smith’s long-term history of opioid misuse spanned more than 20 years.

Mrs Marsh, sitting in the Old Municipal Buildings, Taunton, officially concluded both deaths were ‘drug-related’ and caused by morphine toxicity, including in Glasgow-born Mr Smith’s case diazepam toxicity.