A prison officer drank neat vodka before falling to his death on the morning he was to face trial for having sex with an inmate, an inquest heard.

Christopher Bevan, 35, was due to appear in court charged with misconduct in a public office on June 6 last year.

However the evening before, Mr Bevan drank vodka before refusing to go to bed with his partner, saying he wanted to watch television, an inquest heard.

Croydon Coroners Court heard how Mr Bevan, who lived with his partner in Leith Towers, Sutton, had "lost weight," and was upset after visiting his barrister.

Mr Bevan's partner, who was also a prisoner officer, woke on the morning of June 6 at around 4.30 am and realised Mr Bevan was not with her.

The inquest heard how she went to the kitchen window and saw an ambulance outside the block of flats.

Coroner Dr Roy Palmer returned an open verdict as he could not be sure the fall was a voluntary act, and there was not enough evidence to satisfy him Mr Bevan had committed suicide.

Mr Bevan died from multiple injuries to his chest, pelvis and liver and was pronounced dead at 5.58 am on June 6 last year.

The divorced prison officer had denied two charges of misconduct in a public office when he appeared alongside two colleagues from Downview Prison at Guilford Crown Court in January last year.

The three men were suspended from the female prison following allegations they had sex with a female inmate between July 1, 2006 and February 25, 2010.

Married Russell Thorne, 41, of Sutton, a principal officer at HMP Downview, was jailed for five years in July after he was found guilty of having sex with a female prisoner at the jail.

At the same trial, a jury could not reach a verdict on three misconduct charges faced by co-defendant Simon Dykes, 45, relating to whether he had sex with three different inmates at the prison.