A motorist who died after his car hit a lamppost had fallen asleep at the wheel, an inquest heard.

Bradford Coroners Court was told Maurice Gent, 59, was fasting for the Muslim festival of Ramadan and was "feeling tired" at the time of the collision.

The court heard how Mr Gent, of Waterside, Bingley, was taken to Airedale General Hospital where he told Accident & Emergency staff he thought he had fallen asleep at the wheel.

Mr Gent, a civil servant, had complained of stomach pains in the ambulance. He was stable on arrival at hospital, but his condition started to deteriorate and he died of multiple organ failure on October 5, 2007 - six days after the collision.

The accident happened on the evening of September 29, 2007, on the A650, near its junction with Myrtle Avenue, Bingley.

Steven Ford, a painter and decorator, was driving a VW van behind Mr Gent's car.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Ford said he was travelling on the main road into Bingley town centre when he noticed a Nissan Micra "swerving all over the road."

Mr Ford said: "First we thought the driver had been drinking. We followed the car for quarter of a mile.

"It was slowing down and speeding up. Then it veered off to the left, smashing into a lamppost.

"We stopped and ran back to his car. The man was holding his stomach and moaning and was obviously in a lot of pain."

PC Philip Jackson, a collision investigator for West Yorkshire Police, said the driver's explanation about falling asleep may have been a factor, otherwise there had been an unforeseeable medical emergency.

He said the vehicle's speedometer had jammed on impact, indicting the car had hit the lamppost at about 28 miles an hour.

Bradford coroner Roger Whittaker said Mr Gent was fasting for Ramadan and told hospital staff he had felt tired before driving.

Mr Whittaker concluded it had been an accidental death and said it was clear Mr Gent had died as a result of the injuries he sustained in the incident.

He accepted Mr Gent's explanation, given to those who attended him, that he had been fasting and was tired and may have fallen asleep.