The courageous actions of a disabled Falklands war veteran who intervened to save a woman from a serious assault have been hailed at the inquest into his death.

Peter Eric Hammond, aged 54, was punched unconscious after getting off his mobility scooter to go to the aid of a distressed woman being hassled by two men - and died seven weeks later in Noble’s Hospital.

His best friend Robin Wernham told the hearing that he believed Mr Hammond had never recovered following the unprovoked assault on Empress Drive, Douglas, on December 17.

But the evidence was not sufficient to prove a link between Mr Hammond’s death and the injuries he sustained in the attack. Coroner Jayne Hughes ruled out a verdict of unlawful killing at his inquest this week.

Instead, she gave a narrative verdict saying that while the injuries he sustained could not be proved to have materially contributed to the cause of death, they did undoubtedly cause a deterioration in his mental condition, which led to a decline in personal care and physical well-being.

She said Mr Hammond had not been a well man which made it all the more courageous to intervene when he saw the woman in distress.

’More than that for a man suffering a painful and debilitating condition it was one of bravest things that anyone could have done.’

Arkadiusz Rybczynski, 32, of St Catherine’s Close, Douglas, was jailed for five years in August after being convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in connection with the attack on Mr Hammond.

Grainy CCTV footage played in court showed the attack.

He had been punched and kneed in the head by Rybczynski who then grabbed some railings and jumped up and down on him while he was on the ground.

His victim sustained a head injury including a large open wound to his scalp, and a number of fractured ribs.

A statement made by Mr Hammond to police following the attack was read out at the inquest.

He told officers he had visited his friend on Mona Drive and was getting on his mobility scooter to head home when he saw a female being ’hassled’ by two men who were pulling on her left arm.

He said: ’I heard her say "get off me". I didn’t like what I saw. I shouted out to them "Oy, back off". What happened next is a bit of a blur.’

Mr Hammond told police that one of the men threw a punch at him which ’knocked him for six’.

The next thing he remembered was being attended to by paramedics on the ground.

Mr Wernham, who works at the Workshop for the Disabled, said he was ’disgusted’ at the sight of his friend in hospital after the assault. ’I saw a beaten body,’ he said in a statement.

The inquest heard Mr Hammond’s condition had deteriorated rapidly after he discharged himself from hospital against medical advice. He stopped eating and lost weight rapidly.

Canadian-born Mr Hammond, who had served in the Navy as a nuclear engineer during the time of the Falklands war, suffered a series of falls at his home on Derby Road after he left hospital.

On January 30 this year, his friend found him on his knees facing his recliner chair, unable to get up.

An ambulance was called and Mr Hammond was taken to hospital, frail and malnourished, where he died on February 5.

The inquest heard that the deceased had a number of long-standing medical conditions including deep vein thrombosis in his leg.

He also had liver disease as a result of his heavy drinking.

A post mortem examination concluded that the cause of death was sepsis and multiple organ failure due to pleuritis and pneumonia.

His rib fractures could have been a risk factor, although these could have been caused by the falls at home.

In a statement, Mr Hammond’s mother June Money said it was in her son’s nature to help anyone in trouble.

He doted on his two cats who he would walk round the block to the amusement of bystanders.

’But for the assault I believe he would have lived much longer,’ she said.

The coroner said she hoped that the woman Mr Hammond has saved - who was Rybczynski’s wife - appreciated what he had done for her.