Tony Crampton

Tony Crampton died from a brain haemorrhage after being punched in the head during a fight at his flat.

It was heard that a person had hit him a few times at his flat the night before, but his inquest could not state that his injuries were the result of him being hit.

It was heard that Tony Crampton had been out drinking with four friends but that a row broke out when they got back to his flat and there was a fight in the doorway during which one of Tony Crampton's friends hit him several times in the face.

His friend was arrested soon after on suspicion of murder but was never charged.

His friend said, 'He immediately turned on me and I knew by the look on his face that he meant business. I pushed him onto the couch and hit him four or five times in the face with my fist'. He added that Tony Crampton had been involved in many violent fights and had a reputation for glassing people. He then said, 'I left in fear of him grabbing a knife or something'.

It was heard that the men then left Tony Crampton lying on the couch and that Tony Crampton was found the following morning by his brother-in-law dead.

The pathologist said that Tony Crampton had died from internal brain haemorrhaging but that he was not certain of the cause, although he said that it could have been started by a blow to the face. He added that Tony Crampton had bruising to his left eye, lips, chin, head and neck and that his blood alcohol level was four times over the drink-drive limit.

A doctor who was an expert in brain injuries said that he could not find a clear-cut cause for the internal bleeding and said, 'It's possible that the physical blows caused the haemorrhage but there is no evidence'.

After hearing the evidence, the coroner returned a verdict of death due to natural causes.