The use of a Taser had “more than a trivial impact” on the death of man who was behaving erratically, an inquest has concluded.

Marc Cole, 30, died after the incident on Langton Road in Falmouth in May 2017.

The jury in Truro found his death was caused by “excess use of cocaine resulting in paranoid and erratic behaviour, with the use of a Taser having more than a trivial impact on Mr Cole’s death.”

On 23 May 2017 a police officer, PC Timothy Wilson arrived at Langton Road to find Mr Cole pacing the street bare foot carrying a large kitchen knife and self harming to his arms and neck.

Several eye witnesses gave evidence saying how he appeared to be wandering as though he was lost, and looked straight through them.

Read more: Taser victim had been 'suffering greatly' after loss of father 

PC Wilson shouted at him to drop the knife but he didn’t and so the officer activated his Taser. Mr Cole refused the same command twice more, immediately lifting the knife to his own neck each time. He was Tasered three times for a total of 42 seconds.

By this time another officer had arrived and knocked the knife clear with his baton.

Mr Cole went into cardiac arrest as he was being put into an ambulance and, the inquest heard, effectively died at the scene.

The jury said: “The police officer told Marc to drop true knife twice. Marc did not follow the command to drop the knife, the officer shouted ‘Taser, Taser’ and then deployed the Taser.”

The coroner offered his condolences to the family of Mr Cole.

PC Wilson was questioned at length during his evidence about why he gave three accounts to investigators in the months that followed in which he said he had only used the Taser twice, despite knowing it was three times. He said he was following legal advice from the Police Federaion, and that with hindsight, he regretted following that advice.

Mr Cole was described during as “a lovely popular young man” by his mother and “an amazing man with virtually no faults” by his partner, and mother of his two children.

In the previous months he had been suffering with delusional thoughts and paranoia. Those closest to him told the jury how he had been severely affected by the death of his father in 2015 - and his mental health deteriorated from then.

He believed people were out to get him, and were watching him.

His paranoia led him to jump from his friend’s bedroom window and run out onto the street.