A FORMER firefighter drank himself to death at the age of 35, an inquest has heard.

Father-of-one Paul Barker developed cirrhosis of the liver yet could not give up his addiction despite being told he was living "on borrowed time".

Reading aloud a moving statement, Dennis Barker said his son had lost his job as a fireman after failing a substance test at work which led to his house being repossessed and his car being sold off.

So he moved in with his parents at their home in Percy Street, Hartlepool, where he tried to hide his heavy drinking from them.

“He had been a charismatic social drinker, he was never happier than with his pals,” explained Mr Barker senior.

“But later he became introverted and only drank alone in the house. He wanted the fast effects of alcohol instead of the pleasure of the taste.

“He was told that if he did not stop he was on borrowed time but he did not stop."

In May 2012, Mr Barker was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver after suffering from severe stomach pains and vomiting blood.

He was admitted to University of Hartlepool Hospital on July 11 last year and then transferred to University Hospital of North Tees (UHNT) in Stockton on July 15 where he died the same day after suffering a massive bleed.

The inquest held at Teesside Coroners' Court on Friday heard that as a result of the cirrhosis his liver had been unable to synthesise blood clotting factors.

Dr Christopher Wells, a consultant at UHNT said: “He had a deteriorating liver at some point it reaches the point of no return.

“The varicose veins were getting plumper and plumper and the build up of pressure would have continued and his liver would have just kept on failing.

“I do not think transferring him sooner to North Tees would have made any difference to the treatment he would have received.”

Assistant Coroner for Teesside, Clare (CORR) Bailey, recorded a verdict of misadventure after being told by pathologist Dr Kaushik Dasgupta that Mr Barker had died as a result of alcoholic cirrhosis.

“It is clear that he was very much loved and leaves behind a family which is grieving the loss of a son, brother and brother-in-law,” she added.