A WOODFORD Green man has been found dead in an Indian hotel room following a suspected heroin overdose.

Nigel Smith, 62, was discovered in the bathroom of his hotel in Calangute, Goa, at 2am on Sunday, April 5, by his live-in partner Anne Francoise.

The couple took the heroin after buying a gramme for £40 from Ramesh Chauhan, 32, of Agra, who said he bought the drug from another person in his village.

Mr Chauhan has since been arrested for supplying the drug under the country's anti-narcotics laws.

A police spokesman said: "Mr Smith managed to buy heroin from a local drug dealer and might have been a regular drug user.

"He probably woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.

"Ms Francoise [a French national] said she woke up at about 2am and found him dead.

"We are unable to say at this point whether he died of a drug overdose or due to a fall in the bathroom."

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We can confirm the death of a British national by the name of Nigel Smith, in Goa, India. "We are in touch with the next of kin and are providing consular assistance to them."

Anyone who knew Mr Smith and would like to pay tribute to him, please call Crystal Wilde on: 8498 3462