A FATHER-TO-BE who had a secret drug habit died of a heroin overdose, an inquest heard.

Pawel Darmofal, originally from Poland, died aged 25 on March 23 last year after injecting the drug at his home in Leytonstone.

His girlfriend, who did not wish to be named, was heavily pregnant at the time and found him collapsed in his room soon after he had returned from work.

Speaking through an interpreter at the inquest on January 14, she said: “I was told Pawel had tried drugs some time in the past - he said it was when he was young.

“He didn’t really want to speak about it. I don’t know how much he tried or what drugs - I think he said some pills but I can’t be sure.”

The couple, who had been together for a year, did not discuss drugs again and Mr Darmofal’s girlfriend added she never noticed anything particularly out of the ordinary in his behaviour.

A package containing brown powder, a syringe and a spoon were all found in Mr Darmofal’s possessions when he collapsed at his home in Woodhouse Road, Leytonstone.

Medical examination later revealed puncture marks in his groin consistent with injecting heroin and toxicology reports showed he had been using the drug for at least three months before his death.

There were also reports of heroin being sold in the area that was more potent than other forms Mr Darmofal may have been taken previously.

Recording a verdict of death by misadventure, coroner Dr Elizabeth Stearns said: “It’s possible the heroin Mr Darmofal acquired was stronger than usual and that’s why he got the dose wrong.

“I’m satisfied that although he intended to have the heroin, he did not intend to take too much.

“This is a young man who was looking forward to the birth of his baby and who would have been very proud of his lovely little daughter.”

She added that although Mr Darmofal, a ceiling fixer, had formed a close circle of friends in the UK, none of them were aware of his drug habit.