THE grieving family of a homeless father found dying on a Southampton bench have accused housing chiefs of treating him like a dog.

Philip Cooper drank himself to death in Southampton Docks after a spell on the streets of the New Forest, an inquest heard on Monday.

The 61-year-old, who suffered from depression and alcoholism, consumed more than a litre of whiskey on March 4 and died on a bench in Town Quay, Winchester Coroner’s Court was told.

Now relatives have accused New Forest District Council of failing to help him find a place to live.

In a letter to the coroner, shared with the Daily Echo, his son Lee said: “We all tried so hard to get the council to help him but they didn’t want to know – even a nurse at Southampton General Hospital spent around two hours on the phone trying to get the council to help after seeing how much he was suffering but still they were not interested.

“It’s so wrong that someone could be left so helpless like this – not even a dog would get left out on the street to die in the way my dad did.”

The father-of-four, a former painter and decorator, was barred from the family home in Fourshells Close, Fawley, in 2012 following an alleged domestic violence incident, his ex-wife Lynne told the Daily Echo.

Mr Cooper rented rooms until last Christmas but became homeless earlier this year. Family said his drink problem increased rapidly as a result.

The inquest was told he drank a litre and a half of whiskey and at least eight cans of lager a day.

His GP, Dr Debbie Edmands, told the inquest Mr Cooper was regularly in A&E for falls and suicidal thoughts under the influence.

“He had several admissions for impulsive overdoses under the influence of alcohol,” Dr Edmands said in a statement.

“He often had suicidal thoughts but did not act on them. [Doctors] felt his primary problem was one of alcohol dependence, a difficulty he did not want to address.”

The court heard how he was found motionless on the bench by a member of the public on the evening of March 4.

Bystanders tried to revive him and paramedics spent 15 minutes attempting CPR, but Mr Cooper was pronounced dead soon afterwards. An empty litre bottle of whiskey and pack of tablets was found near the body, the hearing was told.

Blood tests revealed Mr Cooper had drunk five times the drink-driving limit, finding chemicals which suggested his liver had began processing alcohol instead of food.

Toxicologist Peter Streete said both the chemicals and alcohol level were potentially fatal.

The pathologist, Dr Basil Purdue, said Mr Cooper may have been using alcohol to dull the pain of a fractured shoulder sustained in an alleged fracas outside Co-operative Store in Ashurst, near Totton, days before the death.

Senior central Hampshire coroner Grahame Short recorded a verdict of alcohol-related death.

Asked about New Forest District Council after the inquest, Lee Cooper told the Daily Echo: “They knew how vulnerable he was.

"He wouldn’t have died in them circumstances and he wouldn’t have been drinking as much if he had somewhere to live.”

A spokesman for the council’s housing department said: “We do not comment on individual cases. The council provides assistance to members of the community who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

"If anyone has housing concerns our homelessness team will do all they can to offer advice.”