A FATHER suffered a bleed on the brain after he picked up a prostitute and fell down a set of stairs, an inquest heard.

Construction worker Krasimir Stoev had been out drinking with his friend when he agreed to pay a woman, who he met at Smash on Gun Street, for sex.

The 55-year-old Bulgarian took the woman back to his home in Prince of Wales Avenue but told her he did not have any money and they left briefly so that he could withdraw £30 from a cash machine.

The woman was handed more money than she expected before the pair returned to Mr Stoev’s home at around 2am on May 7.

An inquest at Reading Town Hall heard how Stoev turned suddenly and lost balance at the top of the stairs after the prostitute asked him where the toilet was.

As a result, he tumbled and smashed his head on the wooden flooring at the bottom, causing the woman to flee in panic.

At the inquest, Stoev’s family continued to ask questions of the ‘dishonest’ prostitute’s account of what happened.

However, Ian Wade QC, assistant coroner for Berkshire, said there was no medical or police evidence to prove he was pushed and ruled his death as ‘accidental’.

In a brief statement, the family said they would not accept his death was caused solely during a fall down the stairs, despite the fact that the father was described as ‘paralytic’ by the woman he had invited back to his home.

Mark Diegutis, who lived at the same address as Stoev, said: “I heard a really loud noise.

"It was like a chest of drawers had fallen down the stairs. Then I heard a female scream.

"He often came back drunk and has brought back women before.”

Stoev was initially taken to Royal Berkshire Hospital, but was later transferred to John Radcliffe Hospital after suffering severe head injuries.

Mr Wade concluded: “The woman did not stop to help him, but I am satisfied that there is no evidence that he was pushed.

"I know the family may not agree with everything I have said, but police have treated the death as unexplained and she is not a suspect.”