A MAN died after he was kicked by a horse, an inquest in Swindon has heard.

Rhys Avery, 65, suffered a fatal kick to his heart from the horse's hoof when it bucked for no apparent reason.

An inquest into Mr Avery's death at the Civic Offices heard how four horses had been let out of a paddock to go into a nearby field.

Mr Avery, a former Cricklade resident, went to check on a water trough at Down Farm in Purton when three horses became startled.

One then ran in front of him, bucked up and kicked him.

Despite his daughter Gemma's attempts to resuscitate him, she was unable to save him.

"He staggered towards me, then dropped to the floor," Gemma told the inquest.

"I knew I needed to get help.

"I could see the black bruise appearing on his chest."

Mr Avery was pronounced dead by paramedics 10 minutes after the incident at 7.55am, just three days before Christmas.

Mr Avery, whose nickname was Lasher, was said to have loved horses and would dedicate a lot of his time to them.

He was staying in a caravan on the Down Farm site, which is owned by some of his friends.

Mr Avery had a heart attack in 2002, but was said to have recovered well.

He was intending to purchase stables in Wales with his daughter at the time of his death after they had sold their property in Cricklade.

Deputy Wiltshire Coroner David Ridley, who presided over the case, said Mr Avery's death was unnatural.

He said: "This was a freak accident. A horse, for whatever reason, became startled, bucked up and kicked."

The pathologist report stated the horse had caused Mr Avery's heart tissue to rupture.

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.