A MYSTERY medical condition that was never diagnosed caused the fall that led to the death of a Marlow man, an inquest heard.

Retired production manager Derick Morgan is believed to have temporarily passed out at his home in Newtown Road on April 27, causing him to fall back and hit his head on the kitchen wall.

The 65-year-old, who had been preparing to go and help his daughter decorate her flat, was taken to Wexham Park Hospital but later died of his injuries.

His wife Rhona, who was in the adjacent hallway but did not see him fall, told the inquest she found him on his back with his arms by his sides and legs out straight, "as if he'd literally just fallen back".

Mrs Morgan said her husband had a history of fainting episodes but had learned to control them.

She said: "Probably twice a year while eating at the table and talking at the same time, he's fainted. It's always been at the table.

"After the first couple of times he was able to recognise these episodes were going to come. He was able to control and manage them, but I don't know how."

She said the previous fainting episode before the fatal one had resulted in Mr Morgan losing consciousness for a couple of seconds - something which had never happened before.

Mrs Morgan told the inquest: "The paramedics came and they tested him thoroughly. They said they could find no cause for it, as has everybody else since. Nobody has been able to explain it."

Coroner Richard Hulett recorded a verdict of accidental death.