A beloved dad-of-five who was found critically injured and covered in blood in the street died after falling over and hitting his head, an inquest has heard.
Wayne Hopwood, 49, was found seriously injured on Mevagissey Walk in the Greenacres area of Oldham in the early hours of January 12. He was rushed to hospital before his family made the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life support after he sustained "irreversible" injuries.
A police investigation was launched and a 37-year-old man had initially been arrested and bailed on suspicion of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
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But an inquest at opening at Rochdale Coroner's Court heard that the dad had died from head injuries after falling over in the street, and that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.
Police Coroner's Officer, Tracey Bunn told the court that at around 4.20am on January 12, a member of the public had phoned an ambulance after finding Mr Hopwood lying in the street with injuries to his head, back and feet.
"He was taken to hospital with life threatening injuries," she said. "His family contacted the police the following morning to say he had not come home the night before.
"An investigation was launched by GMP and a postmortem revealed that his injuries were consistent with a fall. CCTV showed him falling. There are no suspicious circumstances."
Mr Hopwood's eldest son, Brett Holt, 29, had returned home from work at around 2pm on January 12 expecting to see his dad, who he had lived with all his life. When he arrived, he noticed the dog hadn't been fed and his dad's wallet was on the side. He instantly knew something was wrong.
"I felt it in my gut. Something was telling me something bad had happened straight away - I just had a feeling," Brett previously told the Manchester Evening News.
"I lived with my dad and I know him better than anyone. I had called the police and reported him as missing earlier that day.
"Later that night at about 8pm police called me to say they had found an unidentified male who had been taken to hospital. A woman had seen him in the street and he had been asking for help and called the police."
Brett said doctors told them his father's injuries were 'irreversible' and the family made the decision to switch off his life support.
He added: "It meant people had the chance to come and say goodbye. He had so much love and family surrounding him. I put my hand on his chest and felt his heartbeat stop. It is what he would've wanted - he was such an energetic character who was a free spirit and full of life and always smiling."
Following Wayne's death, heartfelt tributes began flooding in on social media for the dad-of-five, who has three other sons and a daughter, who was described as 'full of life' and 'always wanting to help others.' He also had a nickname, known as 'Hoppy' to family and friends. Seeing the tributes is something his son Brett and the rest of the family has found 'comforting'.
"I've been seeing so many posts online and finding things out about him I didn't know. I have found comfort in all these stories. He was such a community man who knew everyone in Greenacres. He was a massive character who was full of life," Brett added.
"He'd always do anything for anyone - decorating, house sitting, taking their children to the park for them. He was such a family man with a good heart."
A full inquest into the circumstances which led to Mr Hopwood's death is expected to take place later this year.
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