A coroner has returned an open verdict on the death of a man hours after he was allegedly assaulted outside an east Hull pub.

Hull Coroners' Court heard David Jones, 51, of Troutsdale Grove, died at home in the early hours of May 4 after a blood clot formed in his coronary artery.

Mr Jones had been drinking at The Reindeer pub, in Southcoates Lane, on the previous evening and was allegedly attacked as he left the pub at about midnight.

Coroner for Hull and East Riding Geoffrey Saul yesterday concluded he could not be certain Mr Jones' death was triggered by the stress of the alleged attack.

At the conclusion of the inquest, which started on Wednesday, Mr Saul said: "I cannot be satisfied so that I am sure that any stress caused by these blows contributed to his death.

"Therefore I cannot record a verdict of unlawful killing.

"However, I am going to record an open verdict because stress from the blows cannot be excluded as a reasonable potential contributory cause of Mr Jones's death."

The inquest previously heard Mr Jones had chronic heart disease and could have died at any time.

Two post-mortem examinations concluded it was possible the alleged attack put stress on Mr Jones heart and triggered the clot.

However the pathologists who conducted the examinations could not be certain of a link between the two events.

Five men are subject to ongoing criminal proceedings in relation to the alleged attack on Mr Jones.

Daniel Dean, 24, of Wharfedale Avenue, denied affray and Karl Norman, 39, of Southcoates Lane, pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm during a hearing at Hull Crown Court earlier this month.

They are due to stand trial in May next year, along with a 17-year-old boy who also denies affray.

Two other 17-year-old boys, who can not be identified for legal reasons, have pleaded guilty to affray.

The inquest heard summaries of police interviews given by each of the accused.

In his interview with police, Mr Norman had said he hit Mr Jones after hearing the 51-year-old had allegedly assaulted a teenage girl.

However, all five refused to answer any questions at the inquest into Mr Jones's death on the grounds it may incriminate them in the forthcoming proceedings.

The inquest heard evidence from Robert Capraro, the boyfriend of Mr Jones' daughter, who said he had seen the deceased being kicked and punched.

He said he had gone to the pub on Sunday, May 3, with his girlfriend and her parents and there had been a good atmosphere in the pub.

He said he was attacked as he left and he then saw Mr Jones fall to the floor after being punched and kicked.

Mr Capraro said he did not know what had happened to start the attack.

The court also heard evidence from forensic scientist Gregory Waite, who examined photographs of patterned bruising on Mr Jones's head.

A report prepared by Mr Waite stated two marks on Mr Jones' head matched footwear belonging to Mr Norman.

Mr Waite concluded his findings were what he would expect if Mr Norman had stamped on Mr Jones' head at least twice.

Another report written by forensic scientist Elisabeth Harris found traces of Mr Jones's blood on his shoe.

Her report concluded this could be explained by him kicking Mr Jones when he was already on the ground.

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