Cornwall man died after falling from Meribel ski lift

Jeffrey Martin has been on a family holiday in Meribel when he fell

A British man died after falling from a ski lift while on a family holiday in the French Alps, an inquest has heard.

Jeffery Martin, 65, from Falmouth, Cornwall, suffered a medical episode and fell 30ft (9.1m) in Meribel in January 2019.

Cornwall Coroner's Court heard that despite resuscitation attempts, he was declared dead a short while later.

Senior coroner Andrew Cox said Mr Martin died from natural causes either from a cardiac or neurological episode.

Mr Martin, who was an accomplished sailor, had been on a family holiday when he fell.

The inquest heard investigations carried out by the French authorities found the 65-year-old had been sat across two seats of the six-person ski lift when the slipped under the safety bar.

Family friend Helen Burns, who was with him on the ski lift when he fell ill, said he went rigid and threw himself back.

"His skis skidded off the footrest and he slid diagonally under the bar," she said.

"I got my hand to his shoulder and his ski suit just slipped straight out of my hand."

Mr Martin's wife, Angela, who attended the inquest, questioned why the safety bar had not saved her husband.

"The one thing I still have a problem with is that you can fall from a chair lift, whether conscious or unconscious, and that all responsibility is loaded on the person who gets on that ski lift," she said.

After recording his conclusions, Mr Cox said: "It seems to me that it was more likely or not that he was sat between two seats and having suffered that episode… no longer had control of his limbs and he went rigid, his skis slipped off the T bar and he then has slipped under the bar and fallen 30ft to the ground beneath."