A widow whose war hero husband died after a damning series of failures at a private nursing home said today: "I trusted them but they let us down."

The appalling standard of care given to D-Day veteran Lawrence Harrington was only exposed because he was mistakenly given an overdose of the heroin-based drug diamorphine by a senior nurse.

Police launched a criminal investigation into the 85-year-old's death and uncovered a catalogue of mistakes at The Pines in Furze Hill, Hove.

A jury at an inquest into Mr Harrington's death yesterday criticised record-keeping, communication between care providers, lack of specialist equipment and failure to respond to his worsening condition.

Mr Harrington's widow Joan, of Glenfalls Avenue, Patcham, Brighton, said: "The failure of care exposed by the inquest has left me devastated.

They were professionals and should have done better. I trusted them but they let both me and my husband down. It was a terrible way to end 61 years of marriage.

"I feel guilty at having left my husband to this fate in The Pines. I will never get over it. I only hope this will prevent anyone else suffering the same outcome. Justice has been done."

Mr Harrington moved into the rest home in January after being discharged from hospital but he died four months later on May 6 from heart failure and blood poisoning.

The inquest heard he had developed severe pressure sores on his heels, one of which ate the flesh away to the bone.

The extent of Mr Harrington's injuries was only discovered after Roger Berryman, a senior staff nurse at the home, admitted accidentally giving Mr Harrington the wrong amount of diamorphine in the days before his death.

Mr Berryman, who no longer works at The Pines, injected the retired supervisor with 10mg of the painkiller when he was supposed to get between 10mg and 20mg slowly over 24 hours.

The admission led to a criminal investigation being launched and a post-mortem examination was held. It found the drug error did not kill Mr Harrington but exposed the pressure injuries.

At the end of the inquest, the coroner, Veronica Hamilton-Deeley, took the unusual step of directing the jury to return a narrative verdict to describe in detail the causes which led to Mr Harrington's death, including how his condition deteriorated "due to the absence of adequate nursing care including insufficient and incomplete documentation, frequent breakdown of communication between care providers, a non-proactive attitude towards preventative care including supply of appropriate specialist equipment, and a lack of effective response to a worsening medical condition".

Jonathan Powell, spokesman for The Pines, said the home expressed its deepest sympathies to Mr Harrington's family.

He added: "This is the first time The Pines has participated in an inquest of this kind.

"We have co-operated fully with the coroner and the various inspections that have been made.

"Our first priority is and will remain the care of our residents. We will of course respond to the verdict by further re-examining our procedures."

The possibility of criminal charges being brought against the home or individuals is still being examined by Sussex Police.

Mr Harrington's brother-in-law Robert Elliston said the family would now be seeking compensation from The Pines.