A paedophile who sexually abused his four-year-old niece died after falling down a staircase while drunk, an inquest has heard.

Shane Rowden, 59, was fatally injured in the alcohol-fuelled accident just 14 months after being convicted of the historic crimes.

At an inquest into his death this week, condolences were offered to his family, but the woman he abused when she was a child says he should “rot in hell”.

The hearing on Thursday was told Rowden was four times the drink-drive limit at the time of his fall at a block of flats in Goodfellow Way, Dover, on March 24.

He had been drinking beer with a neighbour in an upstairs flat and, as he left to go back to his own, tumbled down the communal stairs.

He had been holding a bottle of vodka which smashed to the bottom of the 13 steps as he fell.

He was found lying on the floor by another tenant.

The inquest heard an ambulance was called at 6.35pm, but paramedics who arrived found Rowden not breathing and unresponsive.

They battled to save him, but resuscitation efforts proved unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead just over an hour later.

A statement from police read to the court stated: “Mr Rowden fell down the stairs carrying a bottle of vodka and we believe he hit his head against a wall.

“A smashed bottle of vodka was found at the bottom of the stairs.”

The inquest heard Rowden was known by police to have an alcohol dependency.

Officers concluded there was no third-party involvement or evidence of violence.

A GP report said Rowden had a history of behavioural problems and a chronic alcohol problem.

A toxicology report showed when he died he had 326 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. For context, the legal limit for driving is 80 milligrams.

A post-mortem examination found he had died both from the fatal effects of alcohol and head and neck injuries.

Assistant coroner Catherine Wood concluded his death was an alcohol-related accident.

She told the hearing: “He had had a very high level of alcohol and that must have impaired him. I offer my condolences to his family.”

In January last year, Rowden was jailed for 16 months for two indecent assaults after admitting molesting Emma Harris at her home in Whitstable between 1980 and 1981.

But he was released from prison immediately having already served eight months on remand, much to his victim’s dismay.

The judge had no choice but to sentence Rowden under laws in place at the time of the offending, when indecent assault carried a maximum prison term of only five years.

Ms Harris bravely waived her right to anonymity to speak about the case and told KentOnline about the long-lasting impact of the abuse.

This week, she said: “When I heard he had died I was so relieved for a couple of days, but then I felt so angry - angry at the court for not punishing him for what he did to me.

“I'm finding it very difficult to live a well-balanced life, but I'm very thankful he was exposed for what he was before he died. He should rot in hell.”