A fit and healthy 84-year-old man has tragically died from a traumatic brain injury whilst ‘boldly’ attempting to trim overhanging branches at his home in Tilehurst, an inquest has heard.

Anthony Philip Beasley, also known as Tony, was knocked off the ‘exceptionally high’ ladder unsuspectedly when the branch he was attempting to remove knocked the ladder off balance.

The retired civil servant fell a considerable distance onto a patch of grass where he lay for 30 minutes before being noticed by a neighbour.

Tony was aged 84 years old when he died in the ICU at Royal Berkshire Hospital on June 19, 2024.

An inquest took place at Berkshire Coroners Court on October 18 to determine the cause of Mr Beasley’s death.

Assistant coroner, Ian Wade, explained that Mr Beasley had been diagnosed with bladder cancer five years ago but was still very ‘fit and healthy’.

The coroner heard that an ambulance was called for Tony after a neighbour noticed that he had failed to move off the ground for thirty minutes.

Mr Wade said: “The overall picture in the reports is that he was in a very bad way. He had visible bruising to the face after falling from the large ladder resting against a tree which was 20-30 feet above the ground.”

The inquest heard that as Tony was treated by paramedics at the scene, he had two cardiac arrests and was resuscitated a number of times.

When he was rushed to the hospital, observations by doctors showed that he had fixed and dilated pupils and a CT scan displayed a large wide spread hemorrhage in the brain.

There also appeared to be significant swelling and bleeding on his left side.

Despite outstanding care by doctors in the ICU at Royal Berkshire Hospital, it was decided that life sustaining treatment should be removed due to catastrophic intercranial injuries and unstoppable bleeding in the brain.

The inquest heard that the cause of death was 1a traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Mr Wade added: “This appears to have been an accident. It was an unforeseen unwanted event that happened in spite of Tony’s best efforts.”

Tony’s wife Anne, who arrived at the house just after the ambulance crew arrived, attended the inquest where she thanked the person who alerted the ambulance to her husband's condition.