THE death of a man who fell outside a petrol station and suffered a devastating brain injury was accidental, an inquest heard.

Matthew Kelly fell outside the Esso and Tesco Express petrol station in Abbey Street, Accrington, on February 17, Blackburn Coroner’s Court heard.

Mr Kelly, 40, of Hodder Street, Accrington, was treated by paramedics after he was spotted on the ground and a police car was flagged down.

A statement from Gary Dixon, a paramedic who treated Mr Kelly, was read to the court by coroner Richard Taylor. It said his patient was on the roadside and ‘unresponsive’.

The court heard Mr Kelly, a former pupil of Mount Carmel High School, Accrington, had been out drinking and initial thoughts were he had suffered a minor fall as a result of being drunk.

However the paramedic quickly realised this was more serious.

Within the statement, Mr Dixon said: “He had suffered an injury to the brain. It was intracranial pressure caused by bleeding.

"He needed to be moved quickly into the ambulance.

“Sadly, in the vehicle the patient started to deteriorate rapidly with more symptoms. His vital signs started to decrease.”

The coroner’s court heard Mr Kelly arrived at Royal Blackburn Hospital ‘totally unconscious’.

In a statement read during the hearing, Dr Peter McDermott, a consultant at the critical care unit at the hospital, said a CT scan revealed Mr Kelly had a bleed on the brain.

He said: “It was believed the injury was non-survivable and he was transferred to the critical care unit.

"It was clear he had suffered a devastating brain injury.

“His family were advised and on the 18th he deteriorated rapidly and he passed away later that night.”

Within a statement read out at court, Dr Muammer Al-Mudhaffer, a pathologist at Royal Blackburn Hospital, said the medical cause of death was a traumatic brain injury.

Mr Taylor returned a conclusion that Mr Kelly’s death was accidental.

He said it would be ‘idle to speculate’ that a knee injury Mr Kelly had which caused him to be for a short time ‘unsteady on his feet’ could have contributed towards the fall.

“Matthew Kelly died on February 18 from injuries sustained after a fall on February 17 in Abbey Street, Accrington.”