A CORONER has ruled a Blackburn man was unlawfully killed by repeated punches to the head.

Experts had previously said that John Kiernan could have died from a ‘violent sneeze’.

But coroner Michael Singleton said any other explanation as to why Mr Kiernan collapsed hours after an attack at his home was ‘fanciful’.

The 38-year-old died hours after being repeatedly punched by 37-year-old Damien Walker.

The Crown Prosection Service decided not to pursue a manslaughter trial as experts said previous injuries had left him with ‘an eggshell brain’ and he could have died at any time.

However coroner Michael Singleton said the attack was responsible for Mr Kiernan’s death.

He said: “In my opinion any other version is fanciful. Almost like suggesting someone who had been shot through the heart with a bullet had suffered a heart attack seconds before.”

The coroner’s comments came as part of his conclusion following a two-day inquest at Blackburn Coroners Court into Mr Kiernan’s death.

As Mr Singleton announced Mr Kiernan was unlawfully killed when punched ‘several times to the head’ at his Stansfeld Street flat, relatives wept.

His sister Mary Balkwill said after the hearing: “That is what we were waiting for, what we should have heard months ago.

“We are so upset at what our family has had to go through and so relieved to hear the coroner’s findings.

“It’s a lot to take in. We celebrated my brother’s 40th birthday recently with this hanging over our heads.”

She said the family would now consider taking further legal action.

Mr Kiernan was attacked on November 29 2010 and collapsed later that day and taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

He was later transferred to Royal Preston Hospital but never recovered and died on November 30.

Experts called on by the CPS said a previous fall or violent sneeze could have triggered his collapse and the service decided not to pursue a manslaughter charge.

Walker admitted a new charge of assault causing actual bodily harm and was jailed for 31 months.

Medical evidence over the two day inquest, which concluded yesterday, came from a radiologist and neuro-surgeon who treated Mr Kiernan plus a neuro-pathologist and a Home Office forensic pathologist who examined Mr Kiernan’s body.

Home Office pathologist Dr Naomi Carter said she could find no suggestion that Mr Kiernan had fallen on ice as some reports suggested.

She said: “I saw no marks of the back of the head, which is where I would expect to see bruising if someone had fallen backwards and struck themselves.”

Dr Carter said marks and bleeding from the neuro-surgery, where doctors had battled to save Mr Kiernan, had interfered with much of the evidence.

She added he had been taking anticoagulent medication to prevent blood clots in his legs, which may have exacerbated the bleeding of his brain injury.

Dr Carter said Mr Kiernan had a history of alcohol problems which could account for old injuries.

The hearing was told there were signs of an earlier lesser bleeding on the brain and it was ‘possible’ he had experienced a rebleeding of already damaged tissues the day he died.

However Dr Carter said it was unreasonable to suggest that it would be a ‘massive and spontaneous’ rebleeding.

She said: “The most likely explanation is the assault on November 29 caused the real damage.”

Following the hearing a spokeswoman for the CPS said: “In July 2011, a decision was taken by the Crown Prosecution Service not to proceed in this matter with a charge of manslaughter.

“That decision was taken after very careful consideration of all the available evidence in this case and following a number of case conferences and detailed discussions with medical experts and police investigators.

“A verdict of unlawful killing does not in itself prove that the evidence justifies a prosecution for murder or manslaughter.

“On the basis of the available evidence at the time, we concluded that we would not be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt in a trial that the assault carried out by Damien Walker was the cause of John Kiernan’s death.

“However, we will now consider the inquest verdict and liaise with Lancashire Constabulary to consider whether any new relevant evidence has emerged at the inquest in order to determine whether the case can be the subject of further investigation and review.”