A CORONER has recorded an open verdict after the death of an 18-year-old Hexham man.

An inquest held on Thursday, September 28, heard that police were called to the address of Kieran Stewart, who lived in the Oakwood area of Hexham, after a family member found him hanging in his bedroom.

The inquest heard that the previous night had been a ‘normal evening’ where he had stayed up and watched TV with his half-sister.

In a statement, she described him talking about going to college and applying for an apprenticeship job.

When Mr Stewart was found hanging in his bedroom, police and paramedics were called, but he was pronounced dead at 3.34pm on June 14.

Police searched the room but no suicide note was found.

Pathologist Dr Robert Sterling found that the indentations around Mr Stewart’s neck were consistent with hanging as the cause of death.

And a toxicology report found that Mr Stewart had 177 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

Coroner Eric Armstrong said this “may well have affected his thinking”, although it was not an amount that would have caused his death.

Recording an open verdict, Mr Armstrong said there was not enough evidence to record a suicide verdict.

Offering his sympathies to Mr Stewart’s family, Mr Armstrong concluded: “I record an open verdict and I do so with regret and with my apology that I haven’t been able to answer the questions you may have.

“The problem is, someone who is 18 and has had a few drinks isn’t always thinking straight and he may well have decided to experiment with this for various reasons.”