The family of a father-of-two have paid tribute to him after he was found dead in his bath.
Concerned relatives forced their way into Shane Lymer’s Bentilee home when they couldn’t get in touch with him.
They had heard the sound of running water the previous night while passing the address and thought little of it. But when it was still running that morning, they realised something was amiss.
The 37-year-old’s body was discovered in the water, which was up to chest height. Tests revealed Shane had taken a combination of drugs, although the overdose was thought to be accidental.
At an inquest yesterday, his sister Sheryl Lymer described him as a ‘lovable rogue’. “He would do anything for anybody,” she said.
“He was mad about motorbikes – that and fishing. He had a few broken bones over the years.”
Sheryl recalled how her brother had been suffering from personal problems linked to the recent break-up of a long-term relationship. Shane, who had previously worked in the loft insulation field, had been prescribed anti-depressants for anxiety and low mood.
He was last seen alive by friends at around 10.30pm on April 5 last year. His nephew and brother found him the following morning at the address in Ubberley Road.
PC Tomassao Wood said: “They forced entry by breaking a kitchen window and climbing inside. They went straight up to the bathroom.”
The cause of death was due to drugs toxicity. An analysis showed there were high levels of a painkiller and an anti-depressant, although this was of a different type to the one he had been prescribed by his GP.
The traces of his actual prescription medication were at a lower level. He had also taken cannabis, but this had played no part in his death.
The former Mitchell High pupil had been due to go for a motorbike ride just hours after his body was found.
One of his treasured scrambler bikes was later used to lead the procession at his funeral, with Shane arriving in a sidecar. Bikers formed part of the cortege to give him a fitting send-off.
At yesterday’s inquest, North Staffordshire assistant coroner Sarah Murphy said his death ‘must have come as a complete shock to the family’.
Concluding it was drug-related, she added: “I am satisfied that Mr Lymer did not take the drugs as a deliberate act, with the intent to kill himself.”
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