A man choked to death on his roast dinner at café just half a mile from his home, as his wife desperately tried to save him.
Grenville Bosworth was out with his wife and sister-in-law visiting the Cattows Farm tea shop, in Coalville, Leicestershire, to enjoy a roast dinner on Sunday 19 February.
But during what should’ve been a lovely meal out at the 79-year-old struggled to swallow some of his food before he slumped over the table and tragically died.
The family sat down for their meal at 2pm, and early on Hazel, Grenville’s wife, removed some food from his plate as she was worried he might choke on it.
But as Grenville, who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease, began eating parts of his roast beef he struggled to swallow.
His wife struck him on the back which seemingly dislodged the stuck piece of food and statements taken from the wife and sister-in-law said that he then “seemed fine”.
They continued eating before Hazel and her sister noticed Grenville suddenly “tense up” again.
This time, striking him on the back didn’t work and he slumped over the table, struggling to breathe.
Despite the best efforts of the wife and an off-duty paramedic, they couldn’t dislodge the food and even when an ambulance arrived they were unable to help.
Tragically, Grenville was pronounced dead at the cafe and an inquest held at Leicester Coroner’s Court on Wednesday recorded a conclusion of accidental death.
Coroner Professor Catherine Mason said: "The off-duty paramedic took him off his chair and onto the floor and started CPR. There appeared to be no response from Mr Bosworth."
She said the CPR, which continued after paramedics arrived, went on for over 30 minutes before he was pronounced dead.
Prof Mason said: "Although the family aren't here today, I'd like to place on record my sincere sympathy for their sad loss."
Speaking after the verdict, the owners and management at Cattows Farm told LeicestershireLive: "We were very saddened by the incident. Grenville lived in the village all his married life and was well known to us as a regular customer.
"We were able to deploy our defibrillator, which is a great piece of kit to have although you hope never to have to use it.
“All of our staff are trained to use it but on the day one of our customers was a nurse paramedic so we left this to the medical professionals although sadly it didn't help on this occasion.
"We'd like to express our sympathies to his family and friends, and our gratitude to our customers who assisted him while there having their Sunday lunch. We're also grateful to the ambulance crews who attended so swiftly."
