A handyman who fell head first from a roof he was fixing died as the result of a “tragic accident”, a coroner has ruled.

Graham Needham, 45, of Paley Terrace, East Bowling, Bradford, suffered severe head and chest injuries when he fell 22 ft from a house in Toller Lane last March, the inquest in Bradford heard.

A statement from Usman Younis, who lived at the property with his parents and two siblings, said he heard a loud smashing sound before he saw Mr Needham fall past a downstairs window.

He found him lying on the ground outside with a three-tier extension ladder, which had been used to get up to the roof, laid on the driveway.

His father Mohammed Younis, whose statement was also read out in court, said he had heard “a loud bang” as the extension ladder fell to the ground.

Mr Younis’ other son Arshad ran to a nearby doctor’s surgery and came back with a nurse shortly before an ambulance arrived and took Mr Needham to Bradford Royal Infirmary, the court heard.

Health and Safety Executive inspector, Martin Hutton, told the court the HSE permitted use of ladders for short duration work of this kind and ladders used to carry out the work were found to be free of defects.

“This is a tragic accident,” Mr Hutton added.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, acting Bradford Coroner, Professor Paul Marks, who praised the “heroic” attempts of medical staff to save Mr Needham’s life, told his partner Tracey Kay and teenage son Nathan, by falling head first he was unlikely to have experienced any pain.