Sir Bobby Charlton died after a fall at a care home

The inquest into the death of Sir Bobby took place today, Wednesday, at Cheshire Coroner's Court in Warrington.

Sir Bobby died at the age of 86 in Macclesfield General Hospital on October 25.

The Manchester United legend was England's most-capped senior footballer for many years (Image: Newsquest)

Sir Bobby, who lived in Lymm for a decade, was the guest of honour at many presentation evenings and played in at least two charity football matches at Wilderspool.

One was held on March 31, 1974 between the Warrington Lions Club and a Showbusiness XI and attracted a crowd of 6,000 people.

Sir Bobby was also the president of The Children's Adventure Farm Trust in Millington near Lymm.

In a statement the charity said he will be sadly missed.

The inquest, presided over by senior coroner for Cheshire Jacqueline Devonish, heard that Sir Bobby was living in The Willows, a nursing home caring for patients with dementia.

As per a written statement provided by Sir Bobby's widow, Lady Norma Charlton, the retired footballer had been receiving respite care at the nursing home in Knutsford since July.

On October 16, it was heard that Sir Bobby had stood up from his chair, lost his balance, and fell - striking a windowsill and possibly a radiator as he did so.

It was heard that Sir Bobby was 'unsteady on his feet, especially when standing from a seated position' as a result of his living with dementia.

Staff at the home were not quick enough to prevent his fall, but performed a full-body check at the time and noted no visible injuries, and recorded that Sir Bobby's mobility seemed unaffected.

Sometime later, swelling was noted on Sir Bobby's back, and paramedics were called to the nursing home - he was then taken to the local hospital before being moved to Macclesfield General Hospital.

It was noted following a chest X-ray and CT scan that Sir Bobby had fractured his ribs, and was likely to develop pneumonia.

Doctors agreed that he should be put on end-of-life care at the hospital.

The inquest heard that Sir Bobby had an extensive medical history, which included an appendix removal, gout, a urine infection, chest infections - for which he had been hospitalised - and the ex-England forward had also contracted Covid-19 in September this year.

Care for Sir Bobby at the nursing home saw him have one-to-one support from staff at all hours of the day, with the inquest hearing that Sir Bobby 'needed support with all aspects of daily living.'

The beloved forward died at the age of 86 (Image: PA)

It was also said that Sir Bobby's care at the nursing home involved his bed being as close to the ground as possible, with crash mats and motion sensors in place, too - this was due to his restlessness making him likely to roll out of his bed.

Coroner Devonish ruled that Sir Bobby's cause(s) of death should be listed as follows:

• Traumatic haemopneumothorax;
• A fall;
• Alzheimer's/dementia.

It was also ruled that Sir Bobby's death was accidental.

The senior coroner extended her condolences to Lady Norma Charlton and the rest of Sir Bobby's family before formally closing the case.

The inquest was heard at Cheshire Coroner's Court in Warrington on Wednesday, November 1.