A FORMER engineering firm director from Waltham Chase died after he had succumbed to an infection following brain surgery, an inquest heard.

Winchester Coroner's Court heard how John Barnes, originally from Shawford, died at Royal Hampshire County Hospital after he had undergone three operations on his brain after he had suffered a fall.

Consultant pathologist Dr Adnan Al-Badri said Mr Barnes - who ran Solent Precision Engineering, based in Bishop's Waltham - had a bladder infection which got into his blood and collected in his skull leading to his death.

The 72-year-old eventually died on January 1 this year.

Assistant deputy coroner Sarah Whitby recorded a narrative verdict saying the length of time between the trauma and the death was too recent to be considered natural causes but too old to be considered accidental.