A MAN who was unable to chew properly choked to death when food became jammed in his airways, an inquest in Taunton has heard.

Friends tried to save Mark Westcott, who was three times the drink drive limit at the time, when he started to cough and held his hands to his throat in his home in Cory Road, Taunton.

They were given instructions over the phone from the ambulance service but Mr Westcott, 41, became unresponsive and was pronounced dead when paramedics arrived after the incident on January 26.

A GP report to the inquest said Mr Westcott had three major problems that made it difficult for him to chew his food.

Acting senior Coroner for West Somerset Tony Williams gave the cause of death as acute aspiration of gastric contents, with the conclusion accidental death.