Dr Benbow told the inquest: "The nasal cavity was filled with blood. My conclusion is that the most likely cause of death is epistaxis, the technical term for a nose-bleed. "The most common cause of epistaxis is picking the nose and I believe that is likely to be what happened." Mr Bothwell had been a fit young man until he suffered a brain haemorrhage when he was 20. He was unable to work and he quickly descended into alcoholism. His only relative was a sister living in Cornwall, who he saw just once in 30 years at his mother's funeral in 1986.