A man may have tripped over his trousers and banged his head in a police cell after drinking an amount of alcohol which would have been enough to kill most people, an inquest jury was told today.

Anthony Wildman was arrested for being drunk and incapable one evening in February last year after he was found lying in a Bradford street.

He was then placed in a cell at Toller Lane police station and placed under observations every half an hour, Bradford Coroner's Court heard.

But an ambulance was called to the station before midnight when blood was found on a wall in his cell.

He was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary suffering from a cut to the back of his head and a large blood clot.

Mr Wildman, 56, of Highgate, Heaton, Bradford was then transferred to Leeds General Infirmary where surgery was carried out to remove the clot. But he died at 9.25am the next morning.

Home Office consultant pathologist Professor Christopher Milroy told the inquest Mr Wildman had suffered fractures to his skull as well as a number of injuries consistent with someone falling against objects in an intoxicated state.

Soon after he was admitted to BRI, Mr Wildman was found to have a blood alcohol level of 450 mgs - nearly six times the drink-drive limit.

Professor Milroy said: "This man was substantially intoxicated on alcohol and I mean substantially intoxicated.

"A concentration of 450 mgs is sufficient in itself to kill most people by acute alcohol poisoning."

He added that an alcohol concentration of this range at the time would have indicated to him that Mr Wildman was an alcoholic.

A post-mortem examination showed that Mr Wildman died from a head injury.

Professor Milroy told the jury: "It is a fall from a standing height. I could not say whether he was pushed or not. I can't exclude him being punched over with any certainty. There's no strong evidence to support that.

"His trousers were around his ankles. Whether he got caught up in his trousers and he fell over, it's just one piece of evidence that has to be considered."

The inquest continues.