Man, 43, with 'raucous laugh and gentle manner' found dead in Shrewsbury church graveyard

Steven Robert Horton, aged 43, was found outside St Chad’s Church in Shrewsbury town centre on July 31 this year.

An inquest into his death at the Guildhall in Shrewsbury was told that Mr Horton was found by a member of the public who called emergency services.

Paramedics commenced CPR but, despite their best efforts, Mr Horton could not be saved and his death was confirmed at the scene.

Police were in attendance and confirmed they were satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr Horton's death. His body was identified by a friend.

A post-mortem was carried out and found a combination of opioids and drugs in his system. His cause of death was given by a pathologist as "multiple drug toxicity".

John Ellery, senior coroner for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, recorded a conclusion of drug and alcohol-related death.

Shortly after Mr Horton's death, homeless charity Shrewsbury Ark wrote online: "This is one of the posts we never want to write.

"It is with great sadness that we let you know a member of The Ark's family has passed away. Steven Horton, who many of our Shrewsbury friends will have seen with his little dog out and about in town, left us.

"Steven had recently been housed and was making great progress in his life. He was still visiting the The Ark regularly, and we will miss his raucous laugh and his gentle manner.

"Steven has passed far too young, as is predicted for people living for extended periods on our streets."

His cousin, Kira Pallatina, launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Mr Horton's funeral. More than £500 was donated.

She said: “It's taken us all by surprise. Steven was a special individual to all who had the pleasure of meeting him and was guaranteed to make you smile or cry with laughter. A character in his own right. He will be missed dearly.”