A lifeless homeless man was dragged along the floor of a hostel and dumped by "friends" he had taken Spice with just hours before he was found dead.

Leslie Smith, known as Little Les, was seen on CCTV going to a neighbouring friend's room at Westbourne House just after 8.30pm on December 20.

Just over an hour later, two of his friends were seen "dragging" his lifeless body back to his own room at the hostel, before leaving him there.

Les, affectionately known as 'Little Les,' will be remembered with a second public memorial service

He was discovered dead the following morning by staff.

Police were called to the scene and two men were arrested on suspicion of administering a noxious substance.

An inquest into the 45-year-old's death heard how toxicology results showed he had taken Spice just hours before his death.

Les' funeral will take place at the large chapel on Chanterlands Avenue on Monday

Mr Smith, a popular figure in Hull's homeless community, had been admitted to hospital two days before his death with a chest infection.

He was given medical treatment at hospital and his condition improved so much he was released the following day.

'The substance is toxic'

A post mortem into his death revealed Mr Smith had suffered with small airway disease and mild heart hypertension.

Forensic pathologist Dr Matthew Lyall said the conditions, together with Mr Smith's drug abuse, caused his death.

He said: "I have discussed the results with toxicology and he has suggested to me that this particular substance is particularly toxic. It can cause people to become agitated, confused, have seizures and can go into a coma and have abnormal heart rhythms.

"This can be particularly hazardous if you have a pre-existing lung condition, and then of course there is the mild heart hypertension Mr Smith had.

Police officers have been called to Westbourne House
Police officers at Westbourne House

"It is certainly possible, even likely, that he could have been under the influence but his death was not solely to the substance but it could have contributed."

Police also revealed there were no suspicious circumstances relating to Mr Smith's death following a full investigation.

He had been homeless for a number of years

The inquest heard Mr Smith had a difficult childhood and his struggles continued into his adult life.

He had been homeless for a number of years and was banned from the William Booth Hostel in the city centre for setting fire to the reception area.

He was well known to police for taking Spice and had also been in prison on a number of occassions, and had been referred to various mental health organisations after admitting he struggled to control his anger.

Residents saw police outside Westbourne House
Residents saw police outside Westbourne House

Following his death, a public memorial service was held in his memory.

Carl Simpson, who is involved with many of Hull's homeless population, said: "Les was a really nice kid. He lifted people’s spirits and you always knew he was coming.

"He used to say, ‘Yo, yo, yo’ and everybody knew him by that – it was like his catchphrase.

"He was always appreciative for anything he got and he had a heart of gold."

Coroner Rosemary Baxter returned a narrative conclusion into Mr Smith's death.

She said: "Leslie Robert Philip Smith died in the early morning of December 21, at Westbourne House. He had recently been discharged from Hull Royal Infirmary having suffered a chest infection. He died due to suffering from small airways disease.

"A toxicology analysis showed a use of Spice found some time before death and this could have aggravated the small airways disease. He also suffered from a mild heart hypertension which could have also contributed to his death."

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