A 72-YEAR-OLD man fell down stairs and broke his neck the day his family had moved him and his wife into a new home.

An inquest heard that Kau Tsang's children had bought the house in Darwen so that they could look after him and his wife better.

But Mr Tsang, a retired chef, got up in the middle of their first night, probably to go to the toilet, and plunged down the steep stairway.

His wife of 54 years, Chun Nui Tsang, said she heard a single shout and by the time she found him at the foot of the stairs he was dead.

Daughter-in-law Mei Chun Tsang said Mr Tsang's children had bought the house for their parents.

"We have thought are we to blame, should we have bought them a bungalow," she told the inquest.

Mrs Tsang told the inquest that her husband had mobility problems because of a mild form of leukaemia. They had moved to Darwen in November to be near their children and friends so they could be more easily looked after.

On March 11 they had moved to the house on Marsh House Lane with the help of relatives and Mrs Tsang said they had both been "happy and excited" having a new home and not being dependant on others.

"This was a house just for ourselves," she said.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, deputy coroner Mrs Carolyn Singleton said Mr Tsang had considerable mobility problems and it appeared he had intended to cross the landing.

"He was not familiar with the house, having only moved in that day, and he fell down stairs and sadly died as a result," said Mrs Singleton.