Tragic homeless Chesterfield man died outside Poundland store from drugs overdose, inquest told

Two passers-by had noticed Graham Green, 59, slumped unconscious alongside another man outside the Castle Square store in Sheffield on October 15, 2018.

The pedestrians reported that Mr Green had ‘turned blue’, and tried to resuscitate him using CPR while awaiting emergency services.

The other man, who police have been unable to identify, regained consciousness and left before paramedics arrived.

Sadly, however, Mr Green was pronounced dead at the scene.

Barry and David Green, the dead man’s brothers, were present at the inquest, but declined the opportunity to ask questions and remained largely silent as the court heard the evidence.

Assistant coroner Katy Dickinson told the court that spice, a synthetic cannabinoid, along with alcohol and Red Bull had been found in Mr Green’s system.

Ms Dickinson said: “It’s a drug-related death. It all points to that.

“Obviously, he’s had a difficult life. I would imagine that drugs were his release really.”

While it remains unclear why Mr Green was in Sheffield, he was a well known figure in Chesterfield, where he had lived on the streets for some years and had found himself in trouble with the law on multiple occasions.

In June 2018, Mr Green was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment after being arrested for a public order offence and breaching a criminal behaviour order.

Last October, he was sentenced to 34 weeks in prison for assaulting a police officer and breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order twice in two days.

And two months earlier – in August 2017 – he was sentenced to 118 days for threatening behaviour and performing a sex act in the town centre.

Mr Green’s recent life was also scattered with tragedy, with three close family members including his son and two grandsons dying in the last five years.

His son Mark – who was also homeless – died in January 2016 after being found unconscious in the Beetwell Street area of Chesterfield.

And two of his grandsons – nine-year-old Tyler Green and 12-year-old Jordan Green – died in a house fire in the village of North Wingfield in Derbyshire in 2013.

The coroner recorded a verdict that Mr Green’s death was drug-related.