A homeless man with a history of drug and mental health problems was found drowned in the River Mersey .
Two anglers fishing off Fort Perch Rock in New Brighton spotted the body of Lee Shields in the Mersey at around 4pm on December 23 last year.
The anglers alerted the emergency services as soon as they realised they had found a body.
Mr Shields, 46, from Birkenhead, was a welders mate.
His devastated dad told how Mr Shields had turned his life around despite his troubles.
His last known address was at Ravenswood Avenue in Birkenhead but he had been sleeping rough in the weeks that led up to his death.
Liverpool Coroners court heard that he was wearing two jackets at the time of his death. He was missing a trainer and his body had suffered damage, probably from being dragged along the bed of the fast flowing river.
Coroner Ms Anita Bhardwaj said that Mr Shields' body may have been in the water for around two weeks. Mr Shields was wearing a silver chain with two crucifixes on.
A Home Office post-mortem later found that Mr Shields died from drowning , toxicity and immersion in very cold water.
He had a high amount of zopiclone in his system, which is a drug prescribed to help people sleep. The court heard the amount of zopiclone was potentially fatal.
He also had other drugs in his system including traces of temazepam, cocaine and methadone.
Police treated the death as non-suspicious.
Mr Shields had struggled with heroin addiction in the past and had been prescribed methadone to help treat the condition.
He collected his last methadone prescription on December 4. He suffered from epilepsy, depression and had self-harmed in the past.
Mr Shields' dad told the court that his son had enjoyed an ordinary childhood but began to lose his way when he was around 16.
He said: "He was top drawer and good at school. But he met the wrong people and went down the wrong road when he was around 16."
When asked what if he meant that his son had become involved in drugs, he said 'yes.'
He said that his son was quite secretive when he was a young man about his lifestyle, but had told his family the truth over more recent years.
He said that his son had tried to turn his life around and found a steady job.
He said: "He had done his stints away and came out better for them. He got himself a job doing track work. This has come from nowhere."
Mr Shields said that his son rarely visited New Brighton said that he thought his son's body was dragged there by the tide.
He said that he thought his son probably drowned but did not not enter the water deliberately.
Ms Bhardwaj said that was a reasonable conclusion to make.
Another member of Mr Shields' family asked the coroner if the amount of drugs in his body could have killed him.
Bhardwaj said that the drugs were at a level which could have been fatal.
Ms Bhardwaj said it was not clear how or where Mr Shields entered the water.
She said that the amount of zopiclone in hs system and the temperature of the water would have contributed to his death.
She said there was no evidence to suggest that Mr Shields had deliberately entered the water.
She said that he could fallen asleep near to the river or just fallen in.
She recorded a verdict of accidental death.
