A MOTHER whose son died at a York homeless centre claims questions remain unanswered following an inquest.

Craig Marshall's body was found on his bedroom floor at the Arc Light Centre in Union Terrace in January, the York inquest was told.

The 35-year-old, who had stayed at the centre five or six times and had also slept rough in York, had been diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and was alcohol dependent.

Blood tests after his death showed he was about three times the drink drive alcohol limit and there were also opiates present.

As the inquest was nearing its conclusion, Craig's mother raised concerns about issues which she said had not been mentioned during the hearing.

She told the inquest she had seen her son's body after his death and observed a number of fresh scratches on his forehead, which appeared to have been made with fingernails. "It was the first thing I noticed," she said.

She also said she had also checked his phone after his death and found he had made seven calls of about five minutes each to a woman in the hours before he died.

She said she had called the woman, who had told her she did not know Craig. However, she had rung the woman a second time some weeks later, at which point she had admitted she did know him.

York's senior acting coroner Jonathan Leach said there had been no mention of scratches in a doctor's report and police had said they were satisfied no one else was involved in Craig's death and there were no suspicious circumstances.

However, if Mrs Marshall had concerns of a criminal nature, it was a matter for the police, and she should report them to officers.

He said the cause of death was opiate poisoning in combination with alcohol intoxication.

Mrs Marshall told The Press after the hearing:"I think there are some important questions which the inquest has failed to answer.

"My son was a lovely guy. He would always think of others before himself. However, he had long-term mental illness and was very vulnerable, and was badly bullied.

"He was beaten up last year and ended up being put in an induced six-week coma at St James' Hospital in Leeds to save his life, and his health deteriorated after that because of what he had been through."