A man who lived a "traumatic life" after surviving a natural disaster in Thailand died at home while his wife was on remand in prison, an inquest has heard.

Michael Dowling, known as Tony, was found dead on July 4 after concerns were raised about his well-being by his wife. He was 58.

Natasha Dowling, who was on remand in Peterborough after a drug arrest, grew concerned about her husband after struggling to get hold of him.

Officers attended his home in Ben Culey Drive in Thetford where they found him deceased in his bed - with signs he had been dead for some time.

An inquest into his death heard Mr Dowling had a history of drug addiction dating back to the 1990s, along with medical conditions including arthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

He had been living alone since his wife, who was also his carer, had been taken into custody after being arrested on May 10 for dealing heroin - for which she was later convicted.

The court heard the 35-year-old's arrest had deeply affected Mr Dowling, who was admitted to hospital following an overdose days after the incident.

In a statement read to the court, his wife said: "I feel a great sense of guilt that I was not there for him and it plays on my mind all the time."

Meanwhile, the court heard that Mr Dowling had told mental health workers while in hospital that he had been in Thailand at the time of the 2004 tsunami and suffered trauma as a result.

Area coroner Yvonne Blake concluded he had died a drug-related death contributed to by cardiac disease.

She said: "He was a man who had quite a lot of health problems and clearly had a traumatic life.

"He was very distressed that his wife had been jailed, notwithstanding that she was his main carer."

His medical cause of death was respiratory suppression due to multiple drug toxicity.