A coroner refused to rule out the possibility that a man who died of a drug overdose may have been injected by someone else.

Brighton and Hove Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley said there was no evidence to prove 21-year-old Gareth White had injected himself with the dose of heroin which killed him.

Mr White, of Wiston Road, Whitehawk, Brighton, was found dead in a flat in St John's Mount on February 3.

The night before, he had been found unconscious from a suspected drug overdose in the foyer of the building but, after medical treatment, had recovered.

An inquest yesterday followed a hearing adjourned by the coroner in August after she demanded detectives made further inquiries into how Mr White died.

The court was told Mr White was right-handed and a needle mark was found on his right arm.

Yesterday Detective Sergeant Jane Palmer told the hearing that investigations had not revealed enough evidence to back up a charge of manslaughter.

Mrs Hamilton-Deeley returned an open verdict.