A WEYMOUTH fisherman may have drowned after passing out while urinating, an inquest heard.

It is believed Richard Pullin suffered from a very rare medical condition which caused him to black out at certain times.

Mr Pullin, of Chickerell Road, disappeared from his fishing boat The Flying Fisher while it was moored overnight at Yarmouth Harbour, Isle of Wight, in May this year.

His body was found two days later on the sea bed near the vessel.

Although the 48-year-old had not told his family, medical evidence read to the inquest said that Mr Pullin had earlier been diagnosed as having the rare condition Micturition Syncope, which had in the past caused him to black out while urinating.

Isle of Wight Coroner John Matthews concluded that Mr Pullin had probably lost consciousness while urinating off the side of the boat in the middle of the night. But he had also had mild heart disease and this could also have caused a black out.

The inquest at Newport heard from Mr Pullin's business partner and friend of many years, Dean Locke, who said the two men had been drinking in Yarmouth on the night before Mr Pullin's death.

But Mr Locke stressed Mr Pullin had been drinking shandy and was not drunk. He had last seen Mr Pullin at 2am, but when he got up for work two hours later, Mr Pullin was missing.

Mr Locke immediately knew something was amiss because Mr Pullin's glasses, without which he was never seen, were still on board.

A diving operation found and recovered the body at the bottom of the harbour, near the boat.

Mr Matthews recorded a verdict of accidental death and told his relatives, who were tearful throughout the hearing, that Mr Pullin almost certainly did not suffer.

Mr Matthews said: "Had Mr Pullin been conscious when he fell overboard, he would have been able to swim back to the boat because he was a strong swimmer."

"Mr Pullin was obviously a man deeply loved by his friends and family. He was a man of great affability and charm.

"I have come to the conclusion that this was an accidental death caused by one of two conditions he had. It was a tragic death and very traumatic for the family."