Llanelli Star

Man found dead hours after playing on his Xbox

- Christie Bannon Reporter christie.bannon@walesonlin­e.co.uk

A MAN was found dead at home hours after playing on his Xbox with a friend, an inquest has heard.

Simon Lee Shanks was found unresponsi­ve on the sofa at his home in Glebe Road, Loughor, on October 19 last year. The night before the 43-yearold and his friend had stayed up until around midnight to play on an Xbox before his friend went upstairs to bed.

The inquest, held at Swansea Guildhall last Wednesday, heard that the following morning Mr Shanks’s friend had gone downstairs at around 11.40am and found him “still on the sofa, in a sitting position, still clutching the Xbox controller”.

Paramedics and police were called to the property but he was pronounced dead at 12.15pm.

South Wales Police PC Ben Evans told the inquest: “Simon’s friend said that he had not taken any drugs the night before to his knowledge. Simon normally slept on the sofa downstairs.

“Officers did not find any evidence of drug use. There were no signs of a disturbanc­e or forced entry. While Simon’s death was not suspicious it was unexplaine­d.”

Mr Shanks previously began “drinking heavily” and suffered with mental health issues after his relationsh­ip broke down, but the inquest heard that he had gone “seven years without taking anything”.

A post-mortem report found that Mr Shanks had a thickening of the heart while a toxicology report found “therapeuti­c levels” of prescribed medication as well as levels of methadone, cocaine and morphine. The inquest heard that Mr Shanks had also “used or been exposed to” cannabinoi­ds.

Recording a drugrelate­d death conclusion, acting senior coroner for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, Colin Phillips, said: “He died on October 19, 2020, at Glebe Road in Loughor as a consequenc­e of an unintentio­nal overdose.”

 ??  ?? Glebe Road, in Loughor, where Simon Lee Shanks died suddenly.
Glebe Road, in Loughor, where Simon Lee Shanks died suddenly.

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