Prodigy singer, 49, had drugs and alcohol in his system when found at his home on 4 March

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Prodigy singer Keith Flint died by hanging and had unspecified amounts of cocaine, alcohol and codeine in his system at the time, an inquest has heard.

The 49-year-old was found dead at his home in the Essex hamlet of North End on 4 March.

The coroner’s officer, Linda Calder, told Wednesday’s brief inquest hearing in Chelmsford that Flint was found hanging at his home by a friend.

She said a postmortem examination recorded that the singer died by hanging, and the report also noted the presence of cocaine, alcohol and codeine.

The senior coroner for Essex, Caroline Beasley-Murray, recorded an open conclusion, adding: “We will never quite know what was going on in his mind on that date.”

She said Flint’s family and band manager were aware of the hearing but did not wish to attend. The hearing was held in their absence, with no witnesses called to give evidence in person.

Police attended the singer’s home and found there were no suspicious circumstances and there was no third party involvement, Beasley-Murray said.

Explaining how she reached her conclusion, she said: “I’ve considered suicide. To record that, I would have to have found that, on the balance of probabilities, Mr Flint formed the idea and took a deliberate action knowing it would result in his death.

“Having regard to all the circumstances I don’t find that there’s enough evidence for that.”

She also found insufficient evidence to conclude Flint’s death was an accident, where he may have been “larking around and it all went horribly wrong”.

“I’m going to conclude an open conclusion,” she said. “We will never quite know what was going on in his mind on that date and so that’s why I’m going to record an open conclusion.

“He clearly was extremely popular. He was much-loved by so many fans. It’s been very touching to see that, and of course I’m aware of the funeral service that was held in Bocking.”

She asked the coroner’s officer to express the court’s sympathy to his family and to the band’s manager.

Fans travelled from as far afield as Australia to gather outside St Mary’s church in Bocking, Essex for Flint’s funeral on 29 March, with festival flags flying and floral tributes piled up in the churchyard, including one of the band’s ant logo.

Flint rose to fame in the 1990s in the Brit award-winning electronic band, who were known for hits including Firestarter and Breathe. They released their latest album, No Tourists, last November, their seventh consecutive number one record.

Flint was described in a statement by bandmates Liam Howlett and Maxim as “a true pioneer, innovator and legend”. They said he was their “brother and best friend” and “he will be forever missed”.

He had taken part in the 5km Chelmsford Central Parkrun on 2 March, posting a personal best time of 21 minutes and 22 seconds.

• In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or emailjo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.