Tragic details of man who died close to well known city pub revealed
Ian Roberts was 52-years-old when he was found dead, sitting in an alley outside 9 Pudsey Street(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
A homeless former British army soldier was found dead sitting in an alleyway in Liverpool city centre. Ian Roberts was 52-years-old when he was found dead, sitting in an alley outside 9 Pudsey Street, which is the location of Ma Egerton’s Pub and close to Liverpool Lime Street Station.
Mr Roberts was found dead on January 8 of this year. An inquest was opened into his death on January 11 and the full hearing was held on Monday of this week.
The ECHO has received the Record of Inquest produced following the hearing at the Gerard Majella Courthouse this week, which provides further details about the death of Mr Roberts. The inquest was heard before coroner Anita Bhardwaj.
The record confirms that Mr Roberts was born on January 30 1972 and was 52-years-old at the time of his death. His occupation is listed as a retired soldier in the British Army.
The coroner recorded a medical cause of death as pneumonia and mixed drug toxicity. The conclusion of the coroner was that his death was drug related.
The report states: “Ian Roberts was a 52-year-old gentleman who had a number of co-morbidities, including a history of drug dependence, above knee amputation, seizure disorder and hepatitis C.”
Speaking about his death, the report adds: “On January 8 2025 Ian was found deceased sat in an alleyway outside 9, Pudsey Street, Liverpool.”
The record states that Mr Roberts was known to the We Are With You charity – an organisation that helps people with drug, alcohol and mental health issues – over the years, but the last contact he had with the charity had been on November 4 2024 to discuss receiving a methadone prescription.
But the inquest heard he did not collect his prescription and informed his keyworker he did not want further support, or prescriptions, therefore his file was closed pending any further contact.
The toxicological analysis carried out on Mr Roberts after his death revealed the presence of a number of drugs, both prescribed and illicit.
A postmortem examination found the presence of pneumonia and found that Mr Roberts died as a result of pneumonia exacerbated by the drug toxicity causing respiratory depression.
The report states: “It is more likely than not the central factor in Ian’s death was the drug toxicity.”
When the ECHO initially reported on the death of Mr Roberts, we confirmed that while he was homeless, he was not believed to be sleeping rough at the time of his death in January. He had last been sleeping rough in November of 2024.
It is understood that prior to that date, he had been living in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation and more recently had been in other forms of temporary accommodation.
The inquest report confirmed his address at the time of his death as a room at the Suites Hotel in Ribblers Lane in Knowsley.