A POPULAR rugby player was found dead by his parents in a smoke-filled flat after he left a chip pan on the cooker and fell asleep.
Richard Mace, aged 30, returned home after an all-day drinking session and put on a pan which burst into flames, a Sheffield inquest heard.
A smoke alarm he bought 10 days earlier was found in his flat unopened.
Dad John Mace told the inquest he and his wife Karen let themselves into Richard's soot-blackened flat on Westcroft Grove, Westfield, after their only child failed to turn up for work on Monday April 14.
He said: "We found him face down on the bed, his usual sleeping position, still in his clothes.
"He had been told repeatedly not to cook when he got in late."
Distraught Karen said her son had not used his deep fat fryer – which would automatically shut down if left unattended – after cleaning it the day before. Instead he put a pan of oil on the hob.
Fire investigator Keith Naylor said the blaze spread to kitchen units before snuffing itself out due to a lack of oxygen.
A post-mortem found Richard died of smoke inhalation, and a blood test showed he was more than twice the drink-drive alcohol limit.
Friend Lee Bishop told the court he and Richard – nicknamed 'Jouster' – had met at 1pm the day before in The Vine pub in Mosborough.
They had eight pints of bitter before moving on to The Royal Oak at 9pm, but Richard left before 10pm saying he'd had enough to drink.
Mr Bishop added: "I don't think he ate anything except crisps while we were out. He was forever putting stuff in the oven and leaving it on."
After the inquest Mrs Mace, of Waterthorpe Close, Westfield, said Richard was a popular man who "lived and breathed rugby". Some 500 people attended his funeral.
He had been a member of Mosborough Rugby Club since he was 13 and always played number eight position. He was qualified as a referee and trained youngsters, she added.
"He was the life and soul of the party. His was a fantastic life tragically cut short and it could have been avoided. It was such a needless waste. Me and his dad miss him so much."
She warned others: "If you have a drink, don't cook. And get a smoke alarm - you can have them fitted free by the fire brigade."
Deputy coroner Donald Coutts-Wood returned a verdict of misadventure.
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