A homeless man found dead in a tent near a Maidstone hotel died of amphetamine poisoning, an inquest heard this week.

Julian Boughton was living on a make-shift campsite in woodland close to the Village Hotel in Forstal Road, Sandling.

Friends of the 46-year-old called emergency services when they found him lying lifeless on his back in November last year.

An inquest into Mr Boughton’s death took place at Archbishop’s Palace in Mill Street, Maidstone.

A postmortem revealed a fatal level of amphetamine in his blood, as well as Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, known as THC acid, which is the active component in cannabis.

Mr Boughton, known as Jules, regularly visited Maidstone Day Centre in Knightrider Street.

He was often seen with his terrier dog Dexter.

Centre manager Zofia Grzymala previously said he was greatly loved by the whole homeless community.

The court heard the night before his death Mr Boughton took amphetamines and smoked cannabis.

He later became extremely hot and asked a friend to wet his T-shirt. One witness said sweat was dripping from his face and he was “jiggling”.

Mr Boughton then asked for a heartburn tablet and went to bed.

The next day friends called out to him but assumed he had left for the day centre. It was only later when a friend noticed Mr Boughton had not placed his dog’s bowls outside the front of his tent he was found.

Det Sgt Richard Pringle told the court Mr Boughton had been living in the area for two years and had been arrested in 2011 for possession of cannabis and amphetamines.

Coroner Patricia Harding recorded a verdict of drugs-related death.