MP Jim Dobbin died after consuming a lethal amount of Polish alcohol

Jim Dobbin's coffin arriving for interment at Rochdale Cemetery

Former Heywood and Middleton MP Jim Dobbin died after drinking a lethal amount of Polish spirits during a European trip, an inquest has heard.

His cause of death was given as toxicity with food aspiration – when food blocks the body’s respiration - with Coroner Simon Nelson recording a conclusion of death by misadventure.

An inquest into Mr Dobbin’s death heard that he had taken a shot of powerful spirit with each course of a meal during a political visit to Poland in September 2104.

Mr Dobbin, 73, complained of feeling ill after the dinner and went to bed after being told by colleagues to “sleep it off”.

He was accompanied by his wife Patricia during the trip. She raised the alarm after she failed to wake her husband up during the night.

A post mortem later revealed that Mr Dobbin had food in his lungs and a blood alcohol level of 399mg per 100ml – nearly five times the UK legal drink drive limit.

Rochdale Coroner’s Court was told that the MP never drank at home and only did socially, normally preferring beer to spirits.

Mr Dobbin’s wife explained during the inquest that during an evening meal held by their Polish hosts, guests were invited to consume a shot of Polish spirit with each course – a tradition which was customary for the occasion.

Mr Dobbin then made his way upstairs to his hotel room after telling friends he began to feel dizzy. He was accompanied by two colleagues and MP Alan Meale. They told him that he “just needed some sleep” so Mrs Dobbin took off his shoes and tie and he was soon asleep.

Mrs Dobbin then became concerned about her husband when she was unable to wake him and realised he was unconscious. He was taken to hospital at 12:55am on Sunday 7 September but died less than an hour after being admitted.

Mr Dobbin was elected as the MP for Heywood and Middleton in 1997. He married Patricia in 1964 and had four children and eight grandchildren.