Court rulings blocked efforts to move a vulnerable young man out his squalid flat in the weeks before he died, an inquest has heard.

Experts decided that depite his learning difficulties Christopher Sanders - who was found dead on his sofa as worried social workers fought a legal battle to move him into respite accomodation - had the capacity to choose where he lived, an inquest heard this week.

And in the months before his death in November 2010 Mr Sanders decided to stay with his alcoholic father.

The inquest, which opened in March but resumed at Wesminster Coroner's Court on Tuesday, heard the 21-year-old died of the chest condition mediastinitis after about three days of illness.

It also heard that the dirty state of the flat in Sadler Close - which had dog mess in its carpets and was littered with empty takeaway boxes - might have lead to the illness that killed him.

Mr Sanders, who had a hormone condition causing serious health problems as well as learning difficulties, had lived with his step-father Kevin Fisher since Mr Sanders' mother died in 1999.

The court heard evidence from Merton Council social workers that Mr Fisher, an alcoholic, was abusive and repeatedly tried to stop his son getting help from social services.

The family had been known to the council for years, but in autumn 2010 it had increasing worries about Mr Sanders welfare after he dropped out of college.

Merton social worker Victoria Lewis said: “We felt we needed to get him out of the home.”

However a Court of Protection ruling earlier in the year, after assessments by a social worker and psychiatrist, had found Mr Sanders had the capacity to choose where he lived.

The authorities were still trying to persuade him to spend a fortnight in respite care out of the family home when he died.

Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said the local authority had done everything it could to protect the young man.

Ms Lewis's manager, Jonathan Brown, said: “We don't feel there is anything we could have done differently. We were working in the legal framework that was set out for us.”

He added the authority had tried a “charm offensive” to win over Mr Fisher, who he said lived an isolated and co-dependent life with his step-son.

On Tuesday the family's GP said a virus could have caused the heavy vomiting that damaged Mr Sander's throat and contributed to his death on November 13 - but after seeing pictures of the filthy flat, said food posioning was also a possibility.

Dr Radcliffe recorded a narrative verdict.

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