A MAN fell down the stairs to his death after a night out, an inquest has heard.

Stephen Brown was found dead at the bottom of his stairway on the morning of November 28 - one day after his 51st birthday.

Mr Brown had been the post master in Weston Village until he retired.

He'd been out having a birthday drink in Frodsham the night before with a friend, post office clerk Neil Graley of Marling Park, Runcorn.

After a few drinks the pair were picked up and taken back to Mr Brown's house in Martindale Grove by his sister, Linda Nelson of Ingleton Grove in Beechwood.

They had some more drinks and Mr Graley stayed the night in a spare room.

A tearful Mr Graley told Warrington Coroners Court: "I got up at 8.30am in the morning, turned the upstairs light on and immediately saw Stephen at the foot of the stairs."

A subsequent post mortem examination found Mr Brown had died of blunt force head trauma. There were no suspicious circumstances.

A dent in the wall showed Mr Brown had apparently fell backwards from the top of the stairs during the night.

Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg recorded a verdict of accidental death and said: "Exactly how Mr Brown came to fall is unknown but it's probably relevant that alcohol was found in his blood.

"It may well be that he was less steady on his feet than he would otherwise have been."