A HAMPSHIRE man died after he fell asleep in bed with a lit cigarette.

Southampton Coroner's Court heard how Barry Levett was found in his bed at his Totton flat by firefighters.

They had been called to the address by neighbours who heard smoke alarms.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the blaze at the Elliot Close flat but found Mr Levett, 63, wrapped up in a duvet and quilt in his bedroom where the fire broke out on March 19.

Giving evidence to the court, Hampshire Fire and Rescue group manager Kevin Oxland said the fire had not spread far and was centred around the area of the bed in the ground floor bedsit-style flat.

Tests had ruled out an electrical fault as the cause of the fire.

Mr Oxland said: "The casualty was either unwell or had fallen asleep holding a lit cigarette when he laid down. This ignited the bedding around his arms and face."

A post-mortem revealed Mr Levett died from severe burns covering up to 70 per cent of his body.

Tests also revealed how Mr Levett had consumed so much alcohol that he was the equivalent of five times the legal drink-drive limit, with a reading of 392mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.

The court also heard from Mr Levett's estranged wife, Lynda Levett, who he had been separated from for two years.

In a statement she described how her husband's drinking had led to the separation.

"I was still in love with Barry when we separated," she said.

She said she had last seen Mr Levett about March 16, when he told her that he was drinking again.

In recording a verdict of accidental death, Deputy Coroner Gordon Denson said: "I am in no doubt as to the events which led to the death of Mr Levett."