A Tooting man found in a bed which had caught fire was killed by a smouldering cigarette, an inquest heard last week.
Stephen Wachira, 46, of Ipswich Road, dropped the cigarette on to clothing surrounding the bed, causing the house fire that claimed his life on February 18.
A postmortem examintaion revealed signs of smoke inhalation suggesting Mr Wachira had died in his sleep as the room around him ignited.
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When fire services arrived they found the first floor bedroom was locked from the inside and several cigarette butts, empty beer cans and vodka bottles were strewn across the floor.
A statement from Mr Wachira's GP, Dr Azhar Ala, read to Westminster Coroner's Court, described Mr Wachira as an extremely 'unwell gentleman' suffering from Crohn's disease, anaemia and a severe alcoholic addiction.
But despite this, a toxicology report suggested he had not been drinking before the fire. Mr Wachira lived on his own and no one else was harmed in the fire.
"I don't believe Mr Wachira suffered a painful death," said Deputy Coroner, Dr Shirley Radcliffe. "He would have passed away peacefully in his sleep."
Tooting firefighters were called to the two-storey terraced house at 6.50pm.
A neighbour said: "I didn't see what happened, but when I returned home at 7.30pm, I saw lots of smoke and fire engines and police."
While the death was eventually considered unsuspicious, a homicide team initially investigated the incident when unexplained grazing and bruising was found on the body.
Mr Wachira's brother and two sisters were in court as Dr Radcliffe recorded a verdict of accidental death, caused by asphyxia.
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