Russell John Jones, aged 66, was found at Nobold, near Meole Brace on the outskirts of Shrewsbury, on June 25 this year.

An inquest into Mr Jones’s death was held this week at Shropshire Coroner’s Court, Guildhall, Shrewsbury.

The court was told that Mr Jones was a keen cyclist and had ridden to his friend’s funeral at Emstrey Crematorium in the county town on June 24.

“He was never off his bike,” his mother Brenda told John Ellery, senior coroner for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

After the funeral service, Mr Jones rode to the wake, which was held at a cottage in Nobold.

He stayed there until about 9.30pm, when he set off on his bike for home in Whittington Close, Sundorne.

However, Mr Jones did not make it home and was found by a passerby at the roadside in Nobold at around 7am the next day, lying on top of his backpack.

The emergency services were called but nothing could be done to save Mr Jones, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A postmortem exam was carried out and it was discovered that Mr Jones had spinal and rib fractures, as well as partial asphyxia and “acute alcohol intoxication”.

It was found that Mr Jones had 226 milligrams of alcohol per litre of blood, which is more than 2.8 times the legal drink drive limit.

The pathologist who prepared the postmortem report said: “It is clear that his ability to ride his bike would have been adversely affected.”

Mr Jones also had ischemic heart disease.

Mr Ellery recorded a conclusion of accidental death.

Comments are closed.

Pin