A MAN who forgot to attend his mother's inquest was asked by the coroner to give evidence over his mobile phone.

Francis Sinclair said he had been so upset about the death of his mother May, he forgot the date of the inquest and had gone to work as usual.

In an unusual move, coroner Aidan Cotter contacted Mr Sinclair, a lorry driver, via telephone while he was driving because he did not want to postpone the inquest.

Mr Sinclair was asked to swear under oath and gave his evidence over the phone.

Michael Burgess, coroner for Surrey and secretary of the Coroners' Society, said each person appointed to the position was independent and interpreted the laws of conducting inquests in their own ways.

He added: "That may be the practice in that part of the country, although I have never practised it here."

Mrs Sinclair, aged 80, a resident at Victoria House Nursing Home in Bridge Street in Bolton, died at the home on September 13 last year, a few weeks after falling in a corridor and suffering a fractured leg.

Doctor David Knowles told the inquest how Mrs Sinclair had an extensive history of medical conditions including an irregular heart, kidney, lung and renal problems and slight dementia. He believed these had been aggravated by a number of transfers to residential homes and hospitals.

He said he believed the fractured leg was the last straw for an elderly woman who was suffering deteriorating health.

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.