Husband, 77, died after choking on Easter Sunday roast dinner at Beefeater pub in front of his stunned wife, inquest hears

• David Barnes was half way through meal with his wife at pub in Sevenoaks, Kent 
• 77-year-old former telephone engineer fell off his chair and CPR was performed
• Wife feared Mr Barnes, who could not be resuscitated, ate his food too quickly

A husband died after choking on a roast dinner on Easter Sunday, a coroner concluded.

David Barnes was half way through the meal with his wife at The Royal Oak Beefeater, in Sevenoaks, Kent, when he suddenly felt short of breath. 

The 77-year-old former telephone engineer sat upright in his chair before his wife asked him how he was feeling and if had eaten his food too fast.

David Barnes was half way through the meal with his wife at The Royal Oak Beefeater, in Sevenoaks, Kent, when he suddenly felt short of breath

But Mr Barnes, from West Kingsdown in Kent, fell and slumped out of his chair prompting staff to call emergency services.

Two members of the public who were paramedics rushed over to perform CPR on the father before the ambulance service arrived.

After attempting save his life through CPR, and using a chest compression machine, paramedics pronounced him dead at 3.05pm.

Police officer Harry Kemp, who was one of the first on scene, noted in his report that Mr Barnes’s wife had told them she thought he had choked on food, adding that she often told him he would eat too fast.

The telephone engineer died after choking on a roast dinner on Easter Sunday, a coroner concluded

He said there were no suspicious circumstances to the incident.

At an inquest at Archbishop’s Place in Maidstone, Coroner Roger Hatch concluded that David’s death ‘was due to a misadventure’, before giving his condolences to his wife and children who were in attendance.

Choking is the fourth leading cause of unintentional injury death, says the National Safety Council.

It affects elderly people more because they are more likely to be living alone, have dentures or difficulty swallowing.

Between 2014-2017, there were more than 300 choking-related deaths for people aged 70 and over in England and Wales, according to the Office of National Statistics.  

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