A POPULAR Hampshire man who suffered from a rare undetected disease was found dead at home, an inquest has heard.

Russell Coles died at his parent’s home in Ash Close, Romsey, less than a day after falling ill at a Winchester pub.

The 27-year-old, who had been drinking with friends at The Black Boy pub, collapsed in the toilet and hit his head.

He returned home later on Saturday, November 7, after being treated at Winchester’s Royal Hampshire County Hospital. But he was found dead in his room the following day, Winchester Coroner’s Court heard.

Dr Huw White, a Home Office pathologist, said Mr Coles had an abnormally small aorta that had developed a tear and caused internal bleeding. He said it was consistent with Marfan syndrome, a condition that weakens the body’s connective tissues.

Simon Burge, deputy coroner for central Hampshire, recording a verdict of death due to natural causes.

Mr Coles, a data editor at Ordnance Survey in Southampton, was a former pupil of Mountbatten Secondary School, Romsey, and Barton Peveril College, Eastleigh.

The most serious complications of Marfan syndrome, which affects about 1 in 5,000 people are defects of the heart valves and aorta, but it may also affect the lungs, eyes skeleton and hard palate.