A RETIRED solicitor died after collapsing in the street and hitting his head while on holiday in Scotland.

An inquest into the death of Michael McKnight heard that it was unlikely anyone would ever know what caused the keen angler to fall to the floor.

But testimony from witnesses stated the 62-year-old had started to shake as if having some sort of fit.

Mr McKnight, of Porlock Grove, Trentham, died at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh last summer.

An inquest at North Staffordshire Coroner's Court yesterday heard that the deceased regularly visited Scotland and, at the time of his death, was there alone on a fishing break.

The court heard he had stopped off at one of his favourite restaurants in Moffat, Dumfriesshire, on June 19.

After leaving the eaterie, Mr McKnight was seen to collapse in the street, hitting his head on the floor.

The deceased had previously been diagnosed with diabetes, but treated it with insulin. It is not thought that was the cause of his fall.

He was treated at the scene and taken to hospital in Dumfries before being transferred to The Western General Hospital shortly after, where he was put on a life support machine. Mr McKnight, who never regained consciousness, then suffered a stroke on June 27 and died at 6.15pm the same day.

The inquest heard a post-mortem examination report recorded the cause of his death as a severe head injury caused by the collapse. A secondary factor was a type of heart disease.

The examination failed to establish what made Mr McKnight collapse, but statements read out by witnesses to his fall described it as fit-like.

Passer-by Ryan Mackenzie, of Moffat, was walking along the town's High Street with his dog when he saw Mr McKnight.

His witness statement, read out at the inquest, said: "He started to shake as if he was having an epileptic fit."

North Staffordshire coroner Ian Smith recorded a verdict of accidental death.

And he told Mr McKnight's family: "I don't think we will ever truly get to the bottom of what happened to your brother."

Mr McKnight was a defence solicitor, but had also prosecuted on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service.

He also sat as a deputy district judge on the Midland and Oxford circuit.

After his death, former colleagues said he was well respected in the profession, describing him as "always jovial".

Speaking after the inquest, Mr McKnight's brother Patrick McKnight, of The Gables, Alsager, said: "My brother lived life to the full and will be sadly missed."