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Lee Halpin, 26, died of a heart attack as he took part in the week long project, only making it to the second day.

The founder of North East culture magazine Novel went full out to be selected for Channel 4's Investigative Journalism Programme.

His idea was designed to test the conditions of living on the street after the Government

But Halpin failed in his ambitions as he was found dead on April 3 in a boarded-up hostel on Westgate Road, Newcastle.

The coroner heard Lee seemed excited about his project and asked his 1,500 Twitter fans for a sleeping bag.

Nick Walker of Northumbria police told the court that Halpin had met Daniel McEwan who offered him a place to sleep.

Homeless McEwan told he police that he had woken up to find Halpin dead on the first floor of the run-down building.

He had already spent one night in the underpass of the Central Motorway in Newcastle before his death.

It was originally thought determined film maker Halpin had died of hypothermia or drug use but were both ruled out.

Lee had been prescribed drugs for depression after the breakdown of his relationship but the post-mortem showed a correct amount in his system.

Detective sergent Nick Walker said: "There is no evidence that Lee's death involved a third person.

"Therefore the conclusion we have come to is that Lee Halpin placed himself in a unfamiliar, hard lifestyle."

Coroner Karen Dilks told the court in Newcastle: "After hearing all of the evidence it seems clear to me that the cause of Lee's death is sudden adult death syndrome and the cause is one of natural causes.

"This could have happened at any time or place."

Sudden Adult Death Syndrome causes the death of 1 in 1,000 people per year.

Around 4% of sudden deaths are identified as being caused by the syndrome.