The death of a former manager of Falmouth Docks who died on a dementia ward at Bodmin Hospital shortly before his 90th birthday was due to natural causes, an inquest has found.

Wilf Webber died in Garner Ward of Bodmin Hospital on May 26, where he had been admitted after attending the accident department of the Royal Cornwall Hospital following a fall at his home.

He left his home for the hospital in Truro on March 23, and spent the next two months in hospitals having been sectioned under the mental health act, although his partner of 11 years insists he was wrongly diagnosed with dementia..

The inquest heard from a written report by Mr Webber's GP, Dr Miller, who said Mr Webber had lived with his partner Margaret Munday for over ten years, and that she had his "best concerns at heart," and reported "no safeguarding concerns" with the arrangement.

He said while Ms Munday did the shopping, cooking and housekeeping, Mr Webber was "able to remain independent with personal care and dressing."

But after injuring his hip and being taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital, he developed a urinary tract infection, and doctors said he was showing signs of dementia.

The inquest heard a report from a doctor at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, which said that Mr Webber had seen a therapist with a view to being discharged from hospital, but he had been showing signs of delirium, such as aggression and agitation," and had been considered "a risk to himself and other people."

On April 14, a deprivation of liberty order was completed and Mr Webber was sectioned under the mental health act, before being sent to Garner Ward.

Coroner Barrie van den Berg accepted the findings of a post mortem by a Dr Stolte, which found that Mr Webber died after suffering a large cerebral infarction caused by atherosclerosis and underlying severe heart disease.

After the verdict, Ms Munday told the inquest: "Wilf went into Treliske as normal as you or I.

"He gets into Truro and they say he's got long term ongoing dementia, he never showed any sign of dementia. My family had marvellous conversations with him.

Her sister added: "I can't understand why he was sent to Bodmin to convalesce in the first place. That wasn't the place at all for him.

"When Wilf was admitted he wasn't that bad, the urinary tract infection made him worse."

Ms Munday added: "Every day we went he was locked in: crying and crying and crying. He asked to be taken to the toilet and they put him in a nappy every day.

"He hadn't lost it completely," she said, "that place made it ten times worse than it was."

"I still always say he never had dementia."

Wilf, served for 50 years at the Woodlane Social Club, of which he was president, and was manager in the garage of Silley Cox at Falmouth Docks.