A PENSIONER collapsed and died after coming face-to-face with a burglar who ransacked his home and set it on fire, a court heard.

A pathologist said the shock of having a door slammed in his face by the raider could have killed Christopher Proctor, 88.

Anthony Curry admitted the manslaughter of Mr Proctor whose body was found in the charred wreckage of his Blackburn home on November 10 last year, a High Court judge was told.

Prosecutors said the 39-year-old had gone to Mr Proctor’s Pleckgate Road bungalow with his partner Clare Randall with the clear intention of robbing him.

Lancaster Crown Court heard Curry entered the house unbeknown to the ‘eccentric and well-off’ pensioner who was asleep in his downstairs bedroom.

Curry searched the bungalow and stole Mr Proctor’s bank card, prosecutors said.

While he was in the property, Randall’s defence team claimed she had waited outside on Mr Proctor’s driveway for more than two and a half hours.

The pair then made their way down to Brownhill Post Office and tried to withdraw cash using the stolen cards.

Prosecutors said the couple failed to get any money because Mr Proctor had changed his PIN number earlier that day.

Curry then returned to Mr Proctor’s home alone to search for a more accurate PIN number.

Prosecutors said it was during the second visit to the pensioner’s bungalow that Mr Proctor woke to discover his intruder.

Curry fled, chased by the retired lecturer, and, in an attempt to get away, slammed a door into Mr Proctor’s face, the court heard.

The impact fractured the pensioner’s nose and knocked him to the floor.

Despite being unable to find a conclusive cause of death, a pathologist said the fear Mr Proctor had felt when he discovered Curry in his home, combined with the shock of having a door slammed in to his face, could have proved fatal, prosecutors said.

It was discovered during the post mortem that the elderly father had suffered from advanced heart disease and that his heart would not have been able to withstand a shock, the court heard.

Prosecutors said that, in a panic, Curry then set fire to the bungalow in an attempt to cover up his crimes.

Firefighters were called to Pleckgate Road shortly before 3.45am by neighbours.

They discovered the back door of the property was hanging off before finding the burnt remains of Mr Proctor.

Prosecutors said the pensioner had no soot in his lungs, proving he had died before the fire started.

All other evidence, apart from a pulled out phone connector, was destroyed by the blaze.

Detectives launched an investigation and quickly established that, over a period of time, Mr Proctor had been befriended by Curry, who prayed on his vulnerability to steal money from him.

Just hours before his death, CCTV was recovered of Mr Proctor visiting a cash machine close by and he was changing his PIN number.

Police bugged Randall and Curry’s home in Gretna Walk, Blackburn and recorded them discussing different possible explanations for their actions.

When the pair were rehomed to Dyson Street after they were targeted by stone throwing yobs, police also bugged that address too.

Following the fire, officers recovered Mr Proctor’s bank book and wallet which had been discarded in nearby drains.

Curry has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, arson, burglary and two counts of attempted theft.

Mr Justice MacDuff yesterday ((FRI)) ordered another hearing into whether Randall entered the pensioner’s home.

She had admitted burglary and two charges of attempted theft.

The couple will be sentenced next month.