A man of 77 died in a fire on one of the few nights his wife failed to check if he had dropped a lit cigarette before going to bed.

An inquest heard how Dorothy Mizen, 80, would get up in the night to check their mobile home because her chain-smoking husband, Leonard, often nodded off with a cigarette in his hand.

But on April 12, after a tiring day, she fell asleep with him and a fire started, which claimed the life of Mr Mizen and the couple's Jack Russell dog.

West Sussex Coroner Roger Stone recorded a verdict of accidental death on Mr Mizen, who lived at The Willows, a mobile home site close to the railway line at Ford, near Littlehampton.

Mr Mizen's son, Raymond, said his mother usually got up "religiously" to check for lit cigarettes.

In a statement read to the hearing, Mrs Mizen said she was woken up by "cracking and popping noises".

She woke her husband who got up and went towards the lounge to investigate.

Mrs Mizen said: "Then I heard a loud bang, which I think was the television exploding.

"I was screaming for Len but I could not see him."

She left the mobile home to get help and then tried to go back inside but was beaten back by the heat and smoke.

She said: "I was distraught and so upset that I could not do anything for Len."

She believed her husband had dropped a cigarette in the lounge before going to bed, which had then set fire to a chair.

Pathologist Dr Jamie Simpson said Mr Mizen had died from inhaling fumes.

Summing up, Mr Stone said he was sure the fire was the result of an accident with a cigarette.