Man tasered by police after becoming a human fire ball

A man tasered by police officers after he doused himself in petrol while holding a naked flame died after becoming a human fire ball, an inquest heard.

Andrew Pimlott , 32, suffered burns to most of his body after he tipped a jerry-can of petrol over his head in the back garden of his parent's home.

An inquest heard Mr Pimlott's parents - who had taken out a restraining order against their son - called police after they saw him enter the garden on CCTV.

Kelvin Pimlott dialled 999 and officers Pc Hodgkinson and Pc Beer arrived to find Mr Pimlott covered in liquid and holding either a lighter or a match.

Seconds later Pc Beer called fire services to inform them that Andrew was on fire and that Pc Hodgkinson had deployed a taser.

The pair encouraged Andrew to lie on the the floor and they were able to douse the flames using a duvet, buckets of water and a hose pipe.

Mr Pimlott was taken to Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, Devon, where medics began treating him for severe burns.

He was transferred to Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, but died five days later as a result of his injuries.

The incident was investigated by the IPCC whose lead investigator, Emma Yoxhall, summarised the case to Plymouth Coroner's Court.

She said: "On the evening of 18 April 2013 Andrew Pimlott attended his parents home and was seen by his father on CCTV in the garden.

"Mr Kelvin Pimlott saw his son pick up a Gerry can, which he believed contained petrol, and immediately called 999 as he was subject to a restraining order at the time.

"When PC Hodgkinson and PC Beer arrived at the scene it had become clear Andrew had poured petrol over his head and was holding a match or lighter.

"Shortly after PC Beer called the fire service and reported a taser had been discharged and he had alighted."

Andrew had appeared in court the morning of his death, where he pleaded guilty to criminal damage, in relation to an incident at his parent's property.

He was handed a restraining order, preventing him from seeing his parents or being within 100 metres of their home.

But his father Kelvin spotted him on CCTV in the family garden with a jerry-can, believed to have been filled with petrol, later that evening.

He called 999 at 9.09pm and told the call handler he was worried Andrew might try and set the house on fire.

Officers arrived at the scene at 9.15pm and within 41 seconds the pair reported that Mr Pimlott was on fire and that Pc Hodgkinson had deployed a taser.

But the inquest heard it was not known - and could not be determined exactly what - had caused Mr Pimlott to go up in flames.

A scenes of crime officer reported finding a box of matches at the scene, as well as a single match.

The victim was also found to have a box of matches in the pocket of the jeans he was wearing at the time of the incident.

Home office forensic pathologist Dr Russell Delaney told coroner Ian Arrow: "A taser being deployed can result in the ignition of flammable materials.

"The taser bars do not have to make contact with the skin for that to happen.

"It is not possible to determine the initial ignition point or the cause of the ignition in this case and if the naked flame or the taser ignited the flames.

"The possibility the shock of the taser caused him to drop the naked flame cannot be excluded."

It is thought that Mr Pimlott died as a result of complications of severe burns and possible inhalational lung injuries.

The jury, of nine, heard that he had suffered burns to his face, scalp, neck, back, chest, arms, legs and hands.

Dr Delaney added: "Around 25 per cent of the body was burnt, with burns identified to his face, head, right trunk, right upper arm, left trunk and left arm.

"The burns were surgically treated including by skin grafts and medical incisions."

Following an investigation, the IPCC concluded the Pc Hodgkinson had a case to answer for as a result of the use of his taser.

However the CPS decided there was "insufficient evidence" for his prosecution, for a charge of manslaughter by gross negligence or misconduct in public office.

Following a police misconduct hearing behind closed doors, he was also cleared of any wrong-doing.