A bride has told an inquest how she found her 27-year-old husband dead in a chair during Christmas celebrations at a social club.

Verena Penman tried to wake husband Mark when she found him in the early hours of Christmas morning.

But the 27-year-old, of Keir Hardie House, Broadfield, Crawley, had died where he sat at Cherry Lane social club, Langley Green.

Mrs Penman, his bride of three months, said: "He looked as if he was asleep."

Mr Penman was taken to Crawley Hospital but was found dead on arrival.

Consultant pathologist Dr Jane Weston said Mr Penman had a hole in his heart and had probably died from a sudden disturbance in his heart rhythm. She said it was a rare case.

Mrs Penman said her husband did not know he had a hole in his heart but knew he had a heart murmur, which he was not concerned about.

West Sussex Coroner Roger Stone recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.