A man who survived a devastating car crash as a teenager died while battling substance abuse, an inquest has heard.

James Spaans, from King's Lynn, died at the age of 33 in November last year, after being found unresponsive at his friend's home.

An inquest into his death heard that in the weeks prior he had referred himself to support service Change, Grow, Live - and was "engaging well" in his fight for help.

But he died on November 27 of cardiorespiratory arrest due to drug and alcohol toxicity and was found by his friend shortly after midnight the following day.

During an inquest into his death, the court heard there was a great deal more to Mr Spaans than his demons - with his family describing his childhood, his traumatic accident and his efforts to overcome his troubles.

In a statement, Paul Spaans, his father, said: "During his childhood, he was a happy boy, a fantastic person who made lots of friends, swam competitively and won many medals.

"We believed he would grow up to be in the navy because he loved the Sea Cadets and competed nationally in canoeing."

Mr Spaans added that in 2008, when he was 18 years old, his son was in a serious car crash which saw his parents asked to rush to the hospital in case he did not make it. 

While he survived the crash, he spent six weeks in hospital as a result.

Mr Spaans added: "We can not give a definitive moment when we could pinpoint a change in him.

"We believe he wanted to get better and was heading in the right direction.

"He will be sorely missed by those who know the true James."

A toxicology report carried out after his death concluded he had potentially lethal doses of alcohol and ketamine in his system when he died.

Jacqueline Lake, senior coroner for Norfolk, concluded he had died a drug-related death.