A SOUTHAMPTON man died when he fainted and fell to the ground while on a metal detecting field trip, an inquest heard.

Michael Judge suffered a broken neck when he blacked out and fell forward while with friends from the Hampshire Detector Club at Barton Farm near Winchester.

Southampton Coroner’s Court heard how the 73-year old also injured his spinal cord in his fall and died a week later on October 4 at Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.

Mr Judge, who lived at Octavia Road in Mansbridge, was undergoing investigations for his blackouts at the time of his death.

A verdict of accidental death was recorded.