Leslie Blackburn, of Oxford Street, died from head and chest injuries sustained in the fall in February, the hearing at Burnley was told.

Mr Blackburn's brother, Terence, said he had taken him to Burnley General Hospital on February 18th.

"He said he had banged his head and needed an X-ray. He also said he had a pain in his side. I dropped him off at the doctor's afterwards and that was the last time I saw him alive.

"When I went to his house the next day, I found the curtains drawn. I let myself in and shouted upstairs but got no answer. I went up and found him slumped between his bed and the bedside cabinet. It looked like he had fallen trying to get out of bed," he said.

A friend of the dead man, Mr Kevin Whelan, said he had been with Mr Blackburn when he returned from the doctors. "He went upstairs and I heard a bump. I went and found him and he said he had banged his head. I wanted to call an ambulance but he said 'no'. He was shaking badly. I left him and told him to ring me if he needed anything," he said.

Pathologist Dr Abdul al-Dawoud said a post mortem examination found Mr Blackburn had a fractured rib and swelling on the brain consistent with a fall.

East Lancashire Coroner Richard Taylor said: "It is a shame he did not heed Mr Whelan's advice to go to the hospital. He had had a nasty fall."