A YORK prisoner whose death stopped an attempted murder trial died as a result of taking drugs including “spice”, a jury has concluded.

They made their fact finding after hearing about the last days and hours of Paul Michael Brolly, 31, also known as Paul Michael Rishworth, in Leeds Prison.

He had arrived there on May 16, 2017, from Hull Prison at the start of his trial at Leeds Crown Court.

He denied charges of attempted murder and conspiracy with others to murder a man who had been formally acquitted in 2002 of killing his uncle Mick Brolly. The nephew admitted an alternative charge of grievous bodily harm with intent.

The trial had to be abandoned the day after his death, and a new date fixed for later that year when two co-accused pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and were jailed.

Paul Brolly’s mother Lorraine Rishworth, told the inquest at Wakefield Coroner’s Court that his uncle’s death had hit him hard.

The jury heard that on May 23, when he was due to attend court before the start of the defence case, Brolly was found unconscious in his cell.

Despite cardiac resuscitation attempts by a prison officer, nurses and paramedics, he was declared dead half an hour later.

The jury heard a post mortem revealed Brolly had taken “spice” – a form of synthetic cannabis which had been illegal since the previous year – and cocaine as well as medicines he had been prescribed for various conditions including depression and stress.

Pathologist Kirsten Hope told the inquest the drugs could have fatally affected his heart or his breathing and she could not say which had led to his death.

The jury found he had died from a drug-related death caused by the combination of the illegal and legal drugs found in his body. They heard there were also traces of diazepam and it was not clear whether he had been prescribed that or not.

West Yorkshire area coroner Jonathan Leach said: “There is no suggestion in this case that improper care of the prisoner was not given.”