A man died after taking a cocktail of drugs to manage the pain he suffered as a result of a debilitating condition, an inquest heard.

Joseph Richard Banks, 42, of Workington, was discovered dead in his flat on December 11, 2016.

Cockermouth Coroner's Court was told that Mr Banks had suffered from Crohn's disease since he was a child and had a stoma.

He was on a lot of medication to manage his pain which he kept at his mother's house, visiting every day.

However, the day before he died he had taken his medication home with him, which his mother, Marjory Banks, said was "unusual".

She raised the alarm the following morning when he did not arrive at her house.

Police gained entry into his flat and he was discovered dead with numerous empty packets of medication around him.

A statement from his mother said his illness had impacted on his mental health throughout his life.

Mrs Banks said: "I think he is now at peace. He had a horrible life at times because of his illness.

"He enjoyed driving. He was very knowledgeable. He enjoyed quizzes and always liked to keep his mind occupied."

His sister Catherine Nicholson said: "He was the baby of the family. He got away with a lot of things the rest of us wouldn't. He was clearly ill from a young age.

"He was cheeky and made friends really easily. Most of his teenage years he missed a lot of school. He had a lot of operations and health issues. His health declined in his 20s.

"I think we were quite close. He had a really good relationship with my daughter. If he got really low he would come to mine and I would try to get him to feel good about himself.

"Before he died he was clearly very troubled and suffering. It was clear he was struggling mentally and with the quality of his life and loneliness.

"I think he had an insular life. He didn't have anything to focus on."

Ms Nicholson said they had made plans for Christmas and her brother was looking forward to making Christmas dinner for the family.

"He loved to cook. He often came to mine to cook," she said.

Coroner Kirsty Gomersal said: "It's clear he had a very serious health condition that stopped him from doing things he enjoyed.

"He was prescribed a lot of medication from his doctor and sometimes he would top that up with non-prescribed medication. He did have low mood."

Between October 2015 and May 2016 Mr Banks had received support for his mental health problems from the county council mental health team.

The inquest heard that this support had been positive but his care was later transferred to the Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and his name had been missed so he was not allocated a case worker.

June Begg, of the NHS trust said the error was classed as a serious incident requiring investigation.

She said the investigating officer could not ascertain why he had been missed from the transfer list.

However, Ms Begg said it was a one-off transitional period between the council and the trust which was unlikely to happen again.

She said the two organisations were now completely separate.

A toxicology report revealed Mr Banks had a mix of prescribed medication and sleeping tablets in his system at the time of his death, with some at potentially toxic levels.

Ms Gomersal said she was satisfied that Mr Banks had taken too much medication on the night or morning of his death but could not be satisfied that he had intended to take his own life.

She said he had made future plans and had not taken all of the medication available to him, which she believed he would have done, had he intended to kill himself.

Ms Gomersal said it was an "unintended overdose to manage pain" and concluded he died as a result of misadventure.

She said: "He was a very much-loved son, an adored brother, and beloved uncle. Joseph had been plagued with illness all the way throughout his life. He was on an awful lot of medication to manage his pain. He was struggling with the quality of his life. He was devoted to his mum and spent every day with her. You have my deepest sympathies."

Mr Banks was born at Workington Infirmary and was the youngest of five children.

He attended Ashfield Infant and Junior schools and then Stainburn School.

Mr Banks was kept back a year at school due to his illness.

He later trained to be a chef at Workington college and then started working at Hunday Manor.

Mr Banks worked at various restaurants throughout Cumbria before he stopped working due to his health.