Bodmin man Andrew Moore 'suffocated by mobility scooter'

A pensioner was suffocated by a mobility scooter after it flipped over and landed on him, pinning him against a wall, an inquest has heard.

Andrew Moore was found near his home in Bodmin, Cornwall, in March 2011.

He had reversed the scooter out of a lean-to by his home on to a footpath before going backwards down a steep grass slope.

The coroner, Andrew Cox, recorded a verdict of accidental death on the 79-year-old at a hearing in Truro.

'Positional asphyxia'

Paramedics and police officers attempted to treat him at the scene in Tredanek Close after the accident on 25 March 2011.

He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.

The weight of the 231lb (105kg) machine, combined with emphysema from which he was suffering, left him unable to breathe, the hearing was told.

Accident investigator PC Paul Frost, of Devon and Cornwall Police, told the inquest that an examination of the scene showed the scooter was under the control of Mr Moore before going down the slope.

The inquest heard that Mr Moore had an alcohol problem and was suffering from liver disease, but was not under the influence of alcohol when he crashed.

Dr Rolf Hohle, who carried out a post-mortem examination, said it was more likely Mr Moore died as a result of the scooter preventing him from breathing rather than because of a medical episode before the crash.

He gave the cause of death as "positional asphyxia".

Recording his verdict, Mr Cox said that, although there were no witnesses to the crash, it was more likely than not that the scooter caused Mr Moore's death.