The parents of a man who died after a 'one-off' night of drinking have paid a heartfelt tribute to him.
Jack Savage, 31, was not a regular drinker but consumed alcohol while he was staying at his parents' house in Necton for the weekend.
It was three days before his birthday and ahead of a period of leave from his job at HMP Wayland.
An inquest into his death heard that Mr Savage, of Cateryne Court, Swaffham, had been drinking before the family arrived home at around 11.30pm after a night out.
Samantha Goward, the area coroner, told the court he was helped to bed and his mother checked on him again at 4am and found him to be snoring before moving him onto his side.
When his father checked again at 5.30am, he had become unresponsive and 999 was called.
Despite attempts by his family and paramedics to save his life, he died at 5.55am on April 23.
Speaking at the inquest, held at Norfolk Coroner’s Court on November 16, his parents paid tribute to their son, who worked as a prison auxiliary officer.
His father, Frederick Savage, said: “Jack was looking forward to two weeks leave and was also so excited for his birthday on the Wednesday, catching up with his family and friends, and celebrating this with a drink.
“Jack had some medical issues relating to previous blood disorders and was on long-life blood thinners, but his death was a great shock.”
READ MORE: Mystery surrounds death of 48-year-old man who died alone at home
READ MORE: Investigation into patient safety after death of 20-year-old found at park
Speaking after the inquest, Shirley Savage, his mother, added: "Jack was hard work in a lot of aspects of his life but he repaid that a thousand times over because he was loving, caring, sensitive, thinking of others, helping when he could.
"Jack’s life was just taking shape and he was finally growing up and taking on responsibility, becoming the man he was. He was in a good place.
"A part of us died with Jack; we feel cheated at losing him. It's been even more of a shock to us as Jack was not a drinker.
“He will always be with us and forever in our hearts.”
The medical cause of death was given as an upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage as a result of haemorrhagic gastritis caused by excess alcohol intake.
Ms Goward gave a short narrative conclusion.
She said: “This was an alcohol-related death following consumption the evening before his death, but he was not a regular drinker and not known to drink to excess.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here