TWO young men died in separate incidents following drink binges, a coroner heard.

Inquests in Hartlepool yesterday heard that 22-year-old Sean Kennedy and Gavin Martin, 25, both died in their sleep after taking a cocktail of drink and drugs during nights out with family and friends.

On January 2, Mr Kennedy, of Garside Drive, Hartlepool, died in bed after consuming a mix of lager, vodka and a lethal dose of paracetamol.

He had been out with family and friends and had gone to bed in the early hours.

An ambulance was called when his family was unable to wake him the following afternoon.

A post-mortem examination showed he had 1,160mg of alcohol in a litre of urine, which, while high, was not potentially fatal.

However, he had 352mg of paracetamol in his blood - more than ten times the therapeutic amount.

Coroner Malcolm Donnelly said: "I'm satisfied he did not intend to take his own life and am satisfied there was no intention of self-harm.

"It's a bit of a mystery as to how on earth these levels of paracetamol were in his system."

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.

The coroner also heard the inquest of unemployed roofer Mr Martin, of Thackeray Road, Hartlepool, who had only been released from prison two days earlier when he went out drinking with his girlfriend Alisha Teale in October last year.

Mr Martin later fell asleep at his girlfriend's house in Monach Road, and never woke up.

A post-mortem examination showed he had 550mg of alcohol in one litre of blood - almost seven times the legal drink-drive limit - and was found to have 745mg of methadone in his system.

Mr Donnelly said his death was due to the combination of drink and drugs.

His verdict was that Mr Martin died of non-dependent use of drugs.