A 35-YEAR-OLD York man died from drinking too much water, an inquest heard.

Shaun McNamara, of Bad Bargain Lane, in Burnholme, had drunk a "large, large volume" of water when he was found dead at his home, an inquest at York Register Office heard yesterday.

He was found collapsed on the floor of his bathroom on the morning of September 1, last year and died later that day.

At first it was believed he had suffered a heart attack.

Dr Ian Reed, a consultant pathologist at York Hospital, who carried out the post- mortem examination, said it was an "extremely unusual" cause of death.

He said: "In 35 years as a pathologist I have never come across such a case."

He found the urine in Mr McNamara's bladder was almost entirely clear and his brain was swollen - symptoms of water intoxication, also known as hyper-hydration or water poisoning, which is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain function as a result of consuming too much water.

He said a large amount of water must have been consumed very rapidly and this type of death was most often seen in marathon runners.

Dr Reed said the consumption of too much water was also sometimes caused by a psychological condition.

Mr McNamara's mother, Gillian, described in a statement how her son had a history of suffering from anxiety and depression and in 2005 had been admitted to York Hospital with an overdose, which she said was "a cry for help" but toxicology reports carried out by an expert in Sheffield found Mr McNamara had not taken any drugs.

PC Nick Thompson, of York Police, said in a statement he had attended Mr McNamara's house at the time of his death and there were no signs of suspicious circumstances of self harm.

Coroner Donald Coverdale said: "This is indeed an unusual case and, I daresay, that the consumption of excessive amounts of water may well have gone unnoticed by those around Mr McNamara, certainly less noticed than if he had been consuming large amounts of alcohol - the effects of which would have been much more obvious.

"It wasn't known to those around him that the quantity of water he was drinking was to prove fatal.

"There is no suggestion on evidence that Mr McNamara had any intention of taking his own life by ingesting this large amount of water.

"I do believe that what has happened here is effectively an accident.

"As to whether there was any psychological condition that caused Mr McNamara to take so much water one can only speculate."

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.