THE family of an avid football supporter who drowned in a canal have told how he was much loved by all who knew him.

Patrick Duffy, 54, went missing in Brentford shortly after midnight on February 9 as he walked towards his home in St John’s Road, Isleworth.

Despite a thorough search by all units of the police and his family, there was no trace of the married man until March 18, when his body was found by the harbour master in the marina near Justin Close.

During an inquest on Wednesday, pathologist Dr O’Higgins told the court that the amount of alcohol in his blood had measured 230mg per 100 ml, meaning he was drunk.

“This is a potentially fatal amount of alcohol but people build up different tolerances to alcohol,” she said. "It is highly possible he needed to urinate and lost consciousness, as can happen when you are drunk.”

Mr Duffy’s family told the Chronicle that he was a wonderful man and they are all incredibly sad he is not with them any more.

The computer programmer had five sisters and one brother, had three children of his own and two grandchildren. Most of his family was at the inquest at West London Coroner’s Court.

Marie McCann, Mr Duffy’s eldest sister, said: “Pat had so many friends. He didn’t have any enemies and was always chatting to people.

“He was very clever. He was a computer programmer for Statoil in Paddington and had been doing that for many years. He used to live with his wife and three daughters in London but then 12 years ago he built a house in Strabane, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, where we’re from. His job here was really good so he stayed here during the week and flew back to Northern Ireland every weekend to be with his family and to relax.

“He was a big Celtic fan but that’s not what people in Ireland knew him for. They knew him for being funny, kind and clever. The police in Brentford were really helpful. We’d like to thank them for everything they did.”

Mr Duffy’s wife, Agnes, said they were all very sad but drew a bit of comfort from the number of people who had paid their respects.

“He trained lots of Norwegians at his job and we had lovely letters from Norway telling us how sad they were. There were wreaths laid for him at Derry airport, where he travelled to and from so much.

“His funeral was near our home in Ireland and the priest said he’d never seen so many people at a graveside. There were too many people to fit in the church.”

Mr Duffy’s daughter, Carleen, said they had known something was wrong when he did not turn up for lunch the day after he was last seen.

“He used to call about three times a day, so when he didn’t turn up, we got very worried and called the police.

“He was a great dad who enjoyed a pint in the pub to relax, but since my son Oscar, who is two, was born, he actually had stopped going, but this weekend he was celebrating the match. He absolutely loved his grandchildren and would often look after Oscar and Aoibhinn.”

Doctor Sean Cummings, deputy coroner at West London Coroner’s Court, recorded a verdict of accidental death by drowning.

Speaking to the family, he added: “You have done him proud and it’s good to see so many of you here.”