A aspiring model who downed 14 shots of vodka at a party choked to death on his own vomit after paramedics told him to 'sleep the drink off', an inquest heard.

Daniel Cripps, 22, was told he did not need to go to hospital even though he was severely drunk at the house party in Newport, Gwent.

However, minutes later he choked and his friends had to call for a second ambulance.

His father, Michael, 44, is taking legal action and said his son would still be alive today if the emergency workers had taken his son to hospital the first time around.

The party took place just a five-minute drive away from Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital.

Party host Danielle Baker, 24, told the inquest in Newport yesterday: 'Daniel was drinking the shots in quantity. He was fine at first but later he was completely out of it.

'We were worried about him so we called an ambulance. The paramedics told him that he needed to sleep and let it wear off.

'I was surprised that they left him and we thought he should have gone to hospital in the ambulance. After they left, he began being sick and his lips turned blue.

'We called a second ambulance which arrived nearly half an hour after the first paramedics left.'

The keen sportsman was later found to be almost four times the legal drink-drive limit for alcohol.

Paramedic Ian Powell said he and a female colleague were called to the party in the early hours of April 25, 2010, where they assessed Mr Cripps.

He said he then applied what is known as the Glasgow Coma Scale, which is widely used to record consciousness levels in patients.

The scale, which ranges from 1 to 15 with a healthy, unimpaired person measuring 15, regards a level 8 as severe or comatose.

The paramedic said that he put Mr Cripps at level 8.

He agreed when asked by the coroner that Mr Cripps was 'severely under the influence of alcohol' but said such cases were common at weekends.

He said that, based on the fact that he was in a safe environment with friends who were looking after him, he decided to leave Mr Cripps where he was.

'I was swayed by the people who knew him and the quiet place he was in. That is why I made my decision,' he said.

However, they were forced to phone for a second ambulance around 20 minutes later.

Dr Charles Deakin, an independent health expert, was later brought in to review the case.

Nearby: Daniel Cripps, 22, was at a party just a five minute drive away from Gwent Hospital in Newport, South Wales

Mr Bowen read out a section in which Dr Deakin concluded he would expect an experienced paramedic to take a patient to hospital if he was judged to be an 8 on the Glasgow scale.

But the report added: 'However, the risk of death from leaving Daniel at the scene was likely to have been less than one per cent.'

Mr Bowen added that Dr Deakin regarded that as a 'significant risk'.

Gwent corner David Bowen recorded a narrative verdict which amounts to a neutral recounting of the events leading to death.

Michael Cripps, speaking outside Newport coroner's court, said his son should have been taken to hospital as a matter of urgency.

'If he had been taken to hospital he would be alive now and we would not be here today,' he said.

'I am distraught to be quite honest with you. Daniel was a kind, generous and loveable person. A keen sportsman who was already hungry.

'The paramedic that made this decision is still working. I don't know how he feels but I think he should be put through rigorous retraining.'

A spokesman for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: 'The Welsh Ambulance Service accepts the coroner's verdict and would like to offer its sincere condolences to the family at this difficult time.

'The trust has ensured that all learning from cases like this help to improve our services for the future.'