A RETIRED GP who turned down the offer of an extra handrail on his stairs was killed when he fell down them four days later.

An inquest into the death of Sidcup doctor Peter Cosgrove, heard the fall resulted in an inoperable brain haemorrhage.

Dr Cosgrove set up his practice at his private address in Main Road, Sidcup, in 1951.

An ex-navy man, from Galway, Ireland, Dr Cosgrove first worked in north east England before coming to Sidcup.

His son Nicholas, who lives in Orpington, told Croydon Coroner's Court his father was losing his mobility and was able to walk with a stick, only with difficulty.

Despite having several falls in the house, he was reluctant to accept help from others and turned down the idea of having a handrail. Four days later he had the fatal fall.

His carer Sue Bonner said Dr Cosgrove insisted on sleeping upstairs. When she arrived on February 9 she found him lying on the floor with blood all around.

“I thought he was dead, but I heard him moaning,” she said.

Dr Cosgrove was taken by air ambulance to King's College Hospital then transferred to intensive care at Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup, where he died three days later.

Deputy Coroner John Sampson recorded a verdict of accidental death.