A vintage tractor enthusiast was crushed by his own vehicle while tinkering with it in the garden of his Chacewater home.

Frederick Jose, who lived at Penstraze, was found trapped under the wheel of the tractor on September 3 last year.

It is thought the 81-year-old had been standing in front of the tractor and had just kick-started the engine when the vehicle rolled onto him.

His son, Derek Jose, told an inquest in Truro this morning that his father had a "long-standing interest" in restoring old tractors and traction engines.

On the day of his death Mr Jose junior had arrived at the home of his father and housebound mother Mary at around 2pm, accompanied by his wife Sheila, daughter and grandchildren.

Sheila had gone into the kitchen to make a cup of tea for Mrs Jose when she saw Mr Jose through the window, collapsed behind the tractor.

Mr Jose junior found his father at the back of the tractor entangled in a rope and tarpaulin that had been covering it.

The tractor had stopped after hitting his father's white Nissan car, but the engine had obviously kept running for some time before stalling as deep pits had been made by the vehicle's tyres.

Mark Richards, a police forensic vehicle examiner based at Camborne traffic unit, said the tractor was in poor condition and could not be started in the conventional way, but the engine could be made to work by standing in front of the vehicle and effectively "jump starting" it.

"The owner would have little time to get out of the way of the moving tractor," he added.

Mr Richards said the tractor had been left in gear, but it was unlikely Mr Jose had intended or even realised this.

Dr Alison St John, the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem, said Mr Jose had died from multiple injuries.

Coroner Dr Emma Carlyon recorded a verdict of accidental death.