A Bristol man died at a New Year's Eve Party after drinking enough to put him four times over the legal driving limit, an inquest heard.

Christopher Price, 22, died from an alcohol overdose at the house party in Henbury, to which he had brought 18 cans of Fosters lager.

Mr Price, described as shy with a close-knit circle, would regularly drink so much that he would "near enough put himself to sleep", a friend told the hearing at Flax Bourton.

Witnesses could not say how much he had consumed after arriving at the house party in mid-evening on December 31, 2007.

But later he was found asleep on the sofa and taken into a bedroom, snoring.

At around 2am his girlfriend Kirri-Anne Parks, 18, raised the alarm as he was not breathing.

His friends failed to revive him and paramedics pronounced him dead at the house in Station Road, Henbury.

Assistant Deputy Coroner for Avon District, Upert Woodburn recorded a verdict of "non-dependent abuse of alcohol."

Mr Woodburn said: "It is unfortunate that an occasion such as a New Year's Eve party Chris should drink with his friends to an extent that it would eventually lead to his death. Unfortunately this is what happened."

Mr Price's friend Ryan Tucker, 19, said of Mr Price, who lived with his aunt: "He was a spot-on kid. He had a good heart and a lot of insecurities. He was really shy and wouldn't talk to many people. Other than that I didn't know much about him because he didn't talk about himself."

Mr Price was looking for a full-time job while doing cash-in-hand work, he added.

A post-mortem revealed the cause of death as acute alcohol intoxication.