A RETIRED teacher and talented violinist died after suffering a heart attack at home, an inquest heard.

Malcolm Mancey-Jones, of Barrow, died at the age of 87 in Furness General Hospital despite paramedics managing to restart his heart after he collapsed while reading.

The Hertfordshire-born Oxford University alumni never regained consciousness despite efforts made by medical professionals.

Coroner Dr Nicholas Shaw said 'everything possible was done at FGH' and he commended staff for their efforts.

His wife Mary Mancey-Jones recalled the day of his heart attack.

“He was walking the dog and had been talking to neighbours, then watched mass virtually," she said.

“He was reading in the garden when he suffered a cardiac arrest.

“Malcolm was a much-loved man.”

Paramedics who attended the incident on May 29 explained that the father-of-three’s wife was applying chest compressions when they arrived and that they had managed to resuscitate him and get him stable.

Following this he was taken to Furness General Hospital.

Dr Fiona Wood, a consultant rheumatologist at FGH, said: “His neck was broken just below the C2 vertebrae and a scan showed he had fractured his right rib.

“This was potentially linked to the CPR given.

“He also had bruising over his sternum.”

She said the possibility of brain damage was high and that there was no change in his consciousness level. She pronounced his death at 3.40pm on June 1.

A cause of death was given as spinal cord compression due to his fractured neck.

But coroner Dr Nicholas Shaw decided to change the cause of death to ischemic heart disease.

“I think the cause of death should be altered," he said.

“By the time the neck break occurred, he had already suffered cardiac arrest and he had not regained consciousness.

“It would seem clear that everything possible was done at FGH - one has to commend the staff.

“I believe he died as a result of a heart attack sustained at his home.

“The conclusion I give is death due to natural causes.”

Mrs Mancey-Jones said they had been married for 42 years. His first wife Belinda died in a tragic sailing accident.

He was born in Hemel Hempstead and grew up in Hertfordshire where he developed a love of sport.

“He served with the Intelligence Corps in the British Army as a linguist and after leaving read Russian and Modern Greek at the Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford," she said.

“After completing a postgraduate degree of University College London he moved to Barrow and taught Latin at Barrow Grammar School, then later taught English.

“After retiring he got out his violin and joined the Furness Community Orchestra."