AN INQUEST verdict of accidental death was yesterday recorded on a 37-year-old Southampton man who suffered a fractured skull in a fall after Cowes Week fireworks last year.

The resumed inquest at Newport heard that no one had witnessed the fall which eventually led to the death of Shaun Derek Taylor, of Kendal Avenue, Millbrook.

Coroner John Matthews was told that Mr Taylor, a single man, had been over for the fireworks celebrations with friends when it is understood he fell on some steps and hit his head in the early hours of August 5.

He was found lying by steps in Minerva Road, East Cowes, having earlier seen the fireworks across the river at Cowes. He went to East Cowes via the floating bridge after becoming separated from his friends.

He and his friends had been drinking that evening, and tests later found he had consumed about three times the legal limit for driving.

Two policemen had seen him unsteady on his feet in East Cowes at around 1.30am and were then alerted half an hour later by a man who found Mr Taylor had fallen outside his home. He was taken by ambulance to St Mary's Hospital, Newport, where he died from his injuries a day later in the intensive care unit at 5.30pm on August 6.

A post mortem examination by pathologist Dr John Mikel confirmed the cause of death as a fractured skull.

The coroner said it was clear Mr Taylor had died as a result of his tragic fall.