AN armed robber who hid evidence of his drug abuse in a Bible died because his body lost its tolerance to heroin in prison.

Sean Jennings, aged 29, died at the Bath Road Hostel, Worcester, where he was staying after being released on parole.

His death has prompted Worcestershire coroner Victor Round to call for more advice to be given to prisoners whose intolerance to heroin can prove fatal if they resume their habit on the outside.

"People are coming out of custody and not knowing they can't take the amount of heroin they used to," said Mr Round in Tuesday's inquest.

Mr Jennings was released on parole from Leyhill Prison in Gloucestershire where he was serving a six-year sentence for the armed robbery of the Portman Building Society in Hereford.

Members of staff at the Bath Road hostel found him dead in his bedroom on Saturday, October 23, last year.

Mr Round said Mr Jennings had not been addicted to drugs but his body could not tolerate the dose he took.

"The quantity of morphine (in his body) wasn't very high and I'm inclined to take the view he wasn't addicted but just went on a spree when he came out," he said.

"After his death, the hostel found foils apparently concealed in a bible on top of a wardrobe."

Mr Jennings' mother Carole Hammond said her son had not taken drugs in jail.

"I know he didn't have any in prison because I saw all the negative test results," she said.

"When he came out he said he would never take anything again."

Pathologist Dr Paul Dunn said Mr Jennings' death had been caused by choking on vomit and opiate poisoning. Mr Round recorded a verdict of death from non-dependent drug abuse.

Factfile

THE problem of drug users who come out of prison and die because their body is no longer used to heroin was highlighted by Worcestershire coroner Victor Round.

"The message needs to be improved," he told the inquest. "They've made the decision to take heroin and they don't worry about what's their exact tolerance.

"Just saying 'Stay completely clean' is not advice you are going to take if you've already decided to take drugs."

Terri Preece, the project director St Paul's Hostel in Tallow Hill, Worcester, said the problem was one of complacency.

"The big problem is they think 'It's not going to happen to me,'" she said.

"You can keep on at them that their tolerance is low but there is an ignorance about what the levels are."