A care home has come under attack for failing to look after a man addicted to drinking water who died after gorging on a hosepipe.

Andrew Else was an "aquaholic" for 30 years, an inquest into his death heard. Yesterday his brother, Stephen, said he should not have been left alone near free-flowing water.

Else, 54, from Milton Keynes, told the inquest: "The water drinking had been a problem for years. I am concerned about the access he had to the hosepipe.

"Here is something with which it is easy to drink a large quantity of water very quickly. Andrew was obviously drinking from it, but no one took the decision to turn it off."

Else, 51, who was autistic, developed his condition after getting chronic stomach pains in his 20s. He often drank from bathroom taps and would go to great lengths to satisfy his craving, the inquest at Newbury town hall in Berkshire heard.

Staff at the Voyage centre in Theale, near Reading, Berks, were criticised by the victim's brother for not monitoring him after he was seen drinking from the hosepipe in May this year. He was later found drenched and lifeless.

Patima Silima, the deputy manager of the Voyage centre, told the inquest that her staff had done all they could to monitor Else's behaviour on the day he died.

"I spotted him drinking water from the hosepipe in the garden at around 5pm, so I told the staff to monitor him," she said.

"A little later I looked out into the garden and saw him trying to turn the hosepipe tap off. His jumper and knees were wet, so for me it was clear he had been drinking again.

"We brought him indoors and gave him some medication to calm him down and he seemed to be fine."

Silima said she was called back to the garden at 8.15pm to find Else had collapsed. "His lips had changed colour and he was cold."

Dr Colin McCormick, a pathologist, said Else died from over-consumption of water, which diluted the levels of sodium in his blood, causing heart failure.

Toxicology tests found he had also suffered water intoxication, or hyponatraemia, after drinking several litres.

The deputy coroner, Pearl Willis, recorded a verdict of accidental death. "Andrew was an emotional individual who had a fascination with drinking water spanning many years," he said.

"He wouldn't have known the dangers of drinking too much water, and although maybe the hosepipe should have been turned off earlier, I feel it is appropriate to record a verdict of accidental death."