MYSTERY still surrounds the death of a Basingstoke cyclist after his body was found in Winchfield last month.

The body of Roger Compton, 60, was discovered with a broken neck in Bagwell Lane, Winchfield at 8.12am on Saturday, May 9.

An inquest held at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on Monday heard that the 60-year-old, who lived at Water End Park, Old Basing, had been travelling home from his mother’s house in Elvetham when his tricycle left the road and landed in a nearby ditch.

The 60-year-old was found the following morning by Fleet runner Arthur Hurley.

Mr Hurley told the inquest: “It was just a normal day and I was half way into an eight-mile run. I generally look down and scan as I run and as I got to the bend and ran up to the bottom, I noticed a flash of fluorescent in a ditch to the left.

“I shouted to him but got no response and I could see no blood or injury on the male but he was visibly blue. I touched his arm and the man felt very cold. I knew it was more serious then than just being unconscious and it was clear nothing could be done for the male.”

The runner then made his way back to the road and flagged down the driver of a BMW and a group of cyclists and then called the emergency services.

PC Andrew McDonnell told the inquest that he attended the scene shortly after the call was made and an inspection of the tricycle showed that two of the three batteries operating the light were in a “discharged state”.

He said that it was very “unlikely” that Mr Compton had swerved to avoid a car or an animal on the rural road as there was no disturbance to the land and he had travelled in a straight line, adding: “The location of the deceased is consistent with travelling towards North Warnborough and failing to navigate the right hand bend and it indicates there was no attempt to navigate it.

“It is likely to be a reliance of the illumination of the front lamp found to contain three batteries, two of which were in a discharged state. It was likely the front lamp was not operating at peak performance which may have contributed to failure to navigate the bend.”

Recording a verdict of accidental death, North East Hampshire coroner Andrew Bradley said: “The tricycle is his own vehicle and it is not something new to him or strange and it was a journey he did regularly. What happened next we shall never know."