A MAN who died in police custody in 2017 had taken cocaine and smashed up his friend's house before being arrested.

An inquest into the death of David Molloy heard the 48-year-old had been drinking with friends in Elgin Street, Halliwell, on September 9.

Mr Molloy, who turned to harder drugs after finding out he wasn't the father of his ex-partner's baby, is believed to have taken cocaine at some point in the evening, becoming paranoid and destroying the property.

Assistant coroner Rachel Syed told the jury that a fight broke out at the address, with John Morton, a good friend of Mr Molloy's, restraining him by the neck and calling emergency services at 1.42am.

Officers arrived shortly before 1.50am and made the decision to take him to Royal Bolton Hospital, but he fell ill in the van and despite attempts to revive him at the side of the road, he later died in hospital.

Yesterday’s hearing at Bolton Coroner’s Court heard the JCB driver, who lived in Swinton, was pronounced dead shortly before 3am on September 10.

Dr Philip Lumb, a forensic pathologist for the Home Office, recorded four factors that contributed to Mr Molloy's cause of death, with acute myocardial insufficiency, a lack of blood to the heart, and severe narrowing of the coronary arteries the two main causes of death.

Cocaine toxicity and physical and emotional excitement of the events of September 10 are believed to have contributed to his death.

When asked to pinpoint the "tipping point" for Mr Molloy's sudden death, Dr Lumb said: "One can never be certain whether his death was preventable, and I can't say one particular factor played more of a role than another.

"Mr Molloy had significant injuries consistent with a fight, and someone applying significant pressure to his neck, but they were insufficient to have directly caused his death.

The inquest continues and is expected to last two weeks.