A FAMILY were left with no clear answers about a father’s death after an inquest.

The inquest of Colin John Read held at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on Monday heard how evidence could not establish the complete circumstances of the death of the 69-year-old from Basingstoke.

The court heard how on Monday, 15 January this year Mr Read was at work with his son Mark Read at the Vickers Business Centre, in Priestley Road.

A statement read to the court stated that Colin Read had left his BMW at the office car park for the weekend as the “battery had run out” which was a “regular transmission defect with the car.”

Mark Read told the court that his father had gone to turn the car on, but after a while he had not returned and one of Mark’s colleagues, Terry McInerney, came to him and said “there has been an accident”.

The court heard the BMW had moved, in to the back wall of the car park, with Colin Read slumped next to the vehicle.

Mr McInerney said: “I saw Colin’s car against the wall but did not know it had gone into the wall.

“I didn’t think much of it at first, but I noticed the interior light was on.

“I thought he [Colin] had left the door open, but as I got closer I saw his head against the bonnet.”

The court heard how Mr Read had a wound to his head which was bleeding and he began vomiting before a paramedic arrived and took him to Southampton General hospital for treatment.

He died two days later, at the hospital, of trauma to the skull.

The court heard that while there was a regular defect with the car, Colin Norris of Hampshire Constabulary’s forensic unit believed this was not a contributing factor to Mr Read’s death.

Addressing the inquest, PC Michaela Kerr described Mr Read’s death as an “unusual case” as there were no blood or hair fibres in the car, leading her to believe the impact to Mr Read’s head was with the ground rather than with the car.

Passing a verdict of accidental death by unnatural causes, north east Hampshire coroner Andrew Bradley said: “It is a desperately sad matter and perhaps I have not given you (Mr Read’s family) the explanation you wanted.

“[The death] is from the impact of the ground and not the car. It is unfortunate that we do not have a clear view of what happened to offer the answers you need.”