A 102-year-old Devon man who was stuck on his roof for three days after trying to adjust his TV aerial later died of pneumonia, an inquest has heard.
Ron Easton, known locally as Ton-Up Ron, died in hospital nine days after being rescued from his house in Bigbury-on-Sea on 24 October.
The former racing driver fell face-down into a small, shallow gulley on his roof and lay there for three days unable to move. It is believed Easton had climbed up to adjust his TV aerial.
Dr Sarah-Anne Milne, from Derriford hospital in Plymouth, told Plymouth coroner’s court that Easton died of bronchopneumonia, with coronary heart disease listed as a contributing factor.
The senior coroner Ian Arrow recorded Easton’s death as accidental, saying the coroner’s office had been struck by his “adventurous spirit”.
The handyman who found Easton told a 999 call operator: “He’s got a saw and a rake with him. I don’t know what on earth he was doing. And he’s up a ladder about eight or nine foot.”
When the paramedic asked the caller what time Easton fell, he replied: “There’s three lots of milk here so it’s probably three days ago, I would have thought. He’s been up on that roof all that time.”
The caller was unable to get a response from Easton, but noticed he was still breathing.
The handyman was first alerted to Easton’s predicament after Trish Bagley, who delivered his milk and newspapers every day, noticed the bottles still on his doorstep. “He always takes his milk in every day so alarm bells rang,” she told BBC News.
The first paramedic on the scene, Nigel Toms, of the South Western ambulance service, said: “He was in a bit of a pickle; but I reached him fairly easily and got a response. His life was definitely at risk.”
Devon and Somerset fire and rescue were called to the scene and crews from Kingsbridge and Greenbank rescued Easton using ladders and a stretcher. He was airlifted to hospital and died nine days later.
