A 79-YEAR-OLD man died after falling from the roof of his New Forest home as he tried to mend his chimney, an inquest heard.

Alfred Penfold slipped off the roof at his home in Woodlands and fell 7ft 9in on to concrete.

He spent more than a month at Southampton General Hospital after falling on November 16 and died on New Year’s Day after suffering from pneumonia and further complications.

In a statement to the Southampton coroner, his wife of 55 years, Brenda, told how her husband and her son had worked out how to repair the chimney.

Their son had said he would fix it but Mr Penfold decided to do the work, with his wife at the bottom of the ladder.

“My husband decided he would carry out the repair and had been up the ladder twice,” she said. “On the third time he put his right foot on the roof and it slipped away from him.

“He continued to slip off the roof to its end and fell on the concrete path below.”

Coroner Keith Wiseman read doctors’ reports about how Mr Penfold, known by his middle name John, suffered multiple injuries at his house in Ringwood Road, and suffered renal failure On December 23 Mr Penfold suffered complications when he became breathless.

Mr Wiseman recorded a verdict of accidental death.