Coroner's warning to Britain's binge drinkers after barman is killed by drinking the equivalent of 10 pints of lager

A coroner has issued a warning to Britain's binge drinkers after a barman  was killed by downing the equivalent of  10-pint of lager.

Michael Hill had consumed 20 units of alcohol with a friend on leave from the Army, the inquest heard.

He passed out on a friend's sofa and never came round.

John Gittins, the deputy coroner for central North Wales, said Mr Hill's death should serve as a lesson to others who often drank that amount at weekends.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, he said: 'It is a real indication of the dangers of binge drinking.

'Twenty units is a level that many people have to drink at weekends but I hope his death will provide valuable evidence of the risk of drinking to excess in this fashion.'

Mr Hill, of Rhyl, Denbighshire, worked in the Long Bar at nearby Towyn and also helped on a stall at Tir Prince market.

His mother, Eileen Harpin, of Rhyl, told the hearing in Prestatyn that she had seen him drunk a couple of times but he could generally hold his liquor.

In a statement read at the inquest Mr Hill's 'best mate' Matthew Johnson, who is serving in the Welsh Guards, said he returned to Rhyl on leave on April 17 and the following evening they went out drinking together before going to a party in Mr Johnson's girlfriend's flat.

He said Mr Hill - known as 'Ginge' to his friends - drank vodka and eventually 'crashed out'.

The soldier's care worker girlfriend Stacey Whiles told the inquest she was at work when he rang her at 4am to say he was worried about Mr Hill, who was vomiting.

'I told him to put Ginge in the recovery position and to put something under him for him to vomit into, so that he wouldn't choke on his own vomit,' she said.

'I had seen him passing out but not vomiting before,' she added.

When Miss Whiles returned home after 8am she found her boyfriend asleep on the floor and Mr Hill dead on the sofa.

She called an ambulance while Mr Johnson tried to resuscitate Mr Hill, but paramedics certified he was dead.

Miss Whiles said Mr Hill drank a certain amount every day and had heavy sessions about twice a month. He also used recreational drugs occasionally.

Toxicology tests showed he had 403 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood - five times the legal limit for driving.

Last night friends paid tribute to someone they described as 'an amazing young man'.

Sarah Unwin, 19, said: 'Michael was a very special boy. We used to go dancing to a club in Wigan and you could guarantee he'd be the last one dancing.

'He had a lust for life and was an amazing young man.'

Kelly Wilson, 19, said she had known Mr Hill since he moved to Rhyl from Wolverhampton about nine years ago.

'He had a lot of friends and if he wasn't working he'd be out having a good time.'