A Gloucester immigration solicitor and businessman who got involved in taking recreational drugs died at his desk from an overdose of the heroin-substitute Methadone, an inquest has been told.

Gloucester Coroner's Court heard on Thursday (August 4) that Derek Sharkey, 47, of Midland Road, Gloucester was working from an office at the Trust Centre in Falkner Street when he died on February 2, 2022.

One of the centre's staff told the inquest that he had known Mr Sharkey for some time and had allowed him the use of the office so he could maintain employment.

The manager said that they had spoken on the phone just before 1pm on that Wednesday (August 3), and he felt that everything was okay with Mr Sharkey and he had no concerns over his welfare.

At 5.43pm he and a colleague dropped in to see Mr Sharkey in his office but found him slumped in the chair with his head under the desk.

He was aware that Mr Sharkey had used controlled drugs and he had previously found him in a state of drug intoxication. He believed that this situation was the same and called an ambulance.

The inquest heard that despite medical intervention Mr Sharkey died at 6.25pm. Paramedics did not find any evidence of trauma and they ruled out any suggestion of any third-party involvement. The medics suggested that Mr Sharkey died from a medical episode.

The police searched the office but didn't find any evidence of drug use or paraphernalia.

The police analysed Mr Sharkey's phone and discovered he had contacted a woman drug dealer earlier that day. The contact included a conversation at 10.50am in which she asked Mr Sharkey 'Do you want to buy any meth?'

The police believe that meth was short for methadone, the inquest heard. Mr Sharkey replied that he would purchase two bottles.

Dr Terence Jones carried out a post mortem on Mr Sharkey and concluded that he had used methadone just prior to his death. He had also used cocaine and amphetamine in the hours beforehand.

Dr Jones said that the amount of methadone found in Mr Sharkey was consistent with high therapeutic use to treat opium withdrawal. The effects of methadone would have been dependant on Mr Sharkey's level of tolerance combined with his use of cocaine and the amphetamines.

Dr Jones confirmed the medical cause of Mr Sharkey's death was methadone toxicity.

The inquest heard that Mr Sharkey, who ran a company known as DMS Immigration Ltd, was not being prescribed methadone by his GP doctor or any other drug treatment clinic.

Change Grow Live, a charitable organisation in Gloucester, dealing with substance misuse, confirmed that Mr Sharkey had previously been with them from June 2021 until January 2022, when he was transferred back to his GP.

In a statement CGL said that when Mr Starkey first registered with the charity he was using £20 of heroin and £20 of cocaine on a daily basis along with consuming 36 units of alcohol. He was prescribed methadone as a substitute.

When CGL last contacted Mr Sharkey in December 2021, he told them that he was abstaining from controlled drugs and that his alcohol consumption had been greatly reduced and that he had become positive over the direction of his future.

Roland Wooderson, the assistant coroner for Gloucestershire, said that the police had confirmed that Mr Sharkey's death was not suspicious and he accepted the medical cause of death as methadone toxicity.

Coroner's conclusion: Drug related death.