A father of four was found dead in a hotel room after suffering a heart attack, an inquest heard.

Simon McGuire, 42, of Tuffnells Way, Harpenden, was discovered in a room at the Premier Inn on April 26 this year.

He was found by a member of staff topless and slumped in a chair. He had no luggage or baggage with him, his clothes were on the floor and a line of fine white powder was laid out on a desk - later found to be cocaine.

The inquest heard that Simon, an information technology consultant who suffered from Type 2 diabetes, had been seeing his GP for cocaine misuse and although on several occasions, he had been referred to Spectrum, Hertfordshire’s Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Service, his attendance had been sporadic.

He had been under the Luton and Dunstable Hospital for acute coronary syndrome and a pathologist’s report confirmed that his blood showed some cocaine and more of a derivative of cocaine making his death directly related to habitual cocaine use.

Assistant coroner for Herts, Edward Solomons, gave the cause of Simon’s death as a drug-related heart attack.

After the inquest, Simon’s father-in-law Maurice Abell paid tribute to the father of four. “Simon was a loving father and a well-liked member of the community. He was active within the community, especially football.

“Clearly, to lose a father and a husband at such an early age has had a profound impact on his wife and four young children and they are trying to rebuild their lives.”