The family of a dad of twins who died from a heroin overdose say they want him to be remembered for the caring and funny person he was.

Patrick Diffley 29, fell critically ill after injecting the drug with a fellow user at a house in Canterbury and died in hospital the following day.

An inquest into his death heard he had a level of morphine in his blood which could prove fatal.

Margate Coroners' Court was told Mr Diffley had recently been released from prison so was probably less tolerant to the drug.

Although assistant coroner James Dillon recorded his death had been “drug-related”, his family said he was not the stereotypical addict.

They spoke after the hearing to praise his character.

Mr Diffley, who died in April last year, had a twin son and daughter, who are now eight years old.

"He was the funniest and could have been a comedian but would go out of his way to help anyone..." - Colleen Diffley

A former pupil of Archbishop’s School who later attended Canterbury College to study musical production, he had been a drug user for many years.

But his mother Colleen Diffley, from Maidstone, said: "We never saw that side of him when he was with us.

"He was the funniest and could have been a comedian but would go out of his way to help anyone.

"He gave money and food to the homeless and even volunteered for the charity Porchlight.

"He cared about people. He was an organ donor and a couple of months before he died he renewed his card.

"As a result there’s a woman in her 30s and a man in his 40s who have benefitted.

"He had beautiful twins who were the love of his life and although he was separated from their mother, he had them every other weekend.

"He had so much optimism and more to give and it’s a terrible waste but we were blessed to have him in our lives."

Mr Diffley's godmother Tracey Barratt, who lives in Herne Bay, added: "He was not the sort who robbed or stole to to buy drugs.

"He was always well-presented and articulate. You just would not have known because we never saw that in him."

The inquest had earlier heard how Mr Diffley was living in a bail hostel in Shakespeare Road, Gillingham but visiting Canterbury at the time of his death.

He had met an old school friend, Robert Wilkes, at a Wetherspoon pub in the city.

In a statement later made to police, Mr Wilkes described how they were walking back to his home in Tennyson Avenue when Mr Diffley met someone who sold him a bag of heroin.

Mr Wilkes did not attend the inquest to give evidence but his statement was read to the court by Det Sgt Barry Carr.

Mr Wilkes described how they had injected themselves with heroin and sat chatting for several hours.

He said Mr Diffley then fell asleep and he later noticed he was not breathing.

He called an ambulance as he and another friend in the house tried to revive him.

Det Sgt Carr said Mr Wilkes had initially been arrested on suspicion of administering an illegal drug to another but had denied it.

The officer told the coroner that after interviewing Mr Wilkes, it was decided there was no evidence to bring charges against him.