An immigration lawyer from Burnley died of a "flesh-eating disease" after he struggled with diabetes and other illnesses, an inquest has heard.

Malik Jawad Ali Taj, 51, of Abel Street, had been suffering with diabetes, kidney disease and heart disease in June last year.

Preston Coroner's Court heard how Malik had recently been seeing a surgeon at the Royal Blackburn Hospital for complications of his illnesses, which were causing an ulcer on his foot.

Consultant vascular surgeon Jennifer Buxton flagged the possibility of the ulcer causing sepsis, and treated Malik for his wound.

In August, the ulcer caused Malik to fall as it had deteriorated and not responded to treatment, also causing him to lose consciousness.

Doctors at Royal Blackburn Hospital concluded Malik would need a below-the-knee amputation later that month.

Although the operation was successful, there were still signs of sepsis, and Malik was also showing signs that he had a small stroke after the amputation.

He was sent home in September with orders to take care of the wound and ulcers with daily dressing changes.

After he was sent home, Malik was seen by many district nurses from the hospital who helped him and his wife care for the wounds, undressing them and changing the bandages, and looking for infection.

The nurses documented the sores and Malik's symptoms, such as pain and confusion, but could not see any obvious sign of infection.

On October 6 at 12.54pm, one nurse noted Malik's oxygen levels were significantly down, and told his wife to call emergency services.

At 7.54pm, exactly seven hours after his wife rang 999, an ambulance came to his home to take Malik to hospital.

His wife said in a statement to the court: "I do not think he should have been sent home when his leg was amputated without an immediate carer.

"He lost a lot of blood and was not given a transfusion.

"After the surgery, nothing much changed. He was incontinent, had no energy, and was in extreme pain."

Malik arrived at the Accident and Emergency department at 8.43pm, and was given antibiotics for sepsis due to a suspected infection.

He was in the A&E department until October 9, as there was a delay in locating a bed, when an operation was ordered for Malik as gas had been found under his skin close to his sacrum bone, around his groin.

Doctors diagnosed Malik with necrotising fasciitis, known as a "flesh-eating disease", a rare and life-threatening infection that can happen if a wound gets infected.

Although the surgery was considered successful in removing the infected skin, Malik died on October 9 at Royal Blackburn Hospital after he suffered from a cardiac arrest after the surgery.

His surgeon, Dr Rani Ahmed, said that necrotising fasciitis occurs randomly and deeply within a wound, which may not have been visible for the district nurses to flag up.

Dr Ahmed said: "Due to his health conditions, Malik was very unlikely to ever leave hospital.

"Necrotising fasciitis is a rare but very serious disease that often causes organ failure and death.

"It was known as a high-risk surgery that his body, particularly his heart, could not cope with already."

Coroner Kate Bisset gave a narrative conclusion of death and said: "I conclude Malik Javad Ali Taj died of necrotising fasciitis due to his underlying health conditions, such as diabetes, that caused a pressure wound on his sacrum.

"I would like to thank Mr Taj's wife for her statement, it has really helped me in the findings of this conclusion.

"Although I agree some parts of Mr Taj's care could have been better, such as the ordering of a CT scan in the Accident and Emergency department, I do not think he would have survived due to the complications of his illnesses.

"Mr Taj sounded like a lovely man who would want his family to be happy and look after themselves."