The coroner for Derby and South Derbyshire is to write to the Transport Secretary after an inquest found that an elderly woman was killed when she fell from a flip-up seat after the bus she was a passenger on braked to avoid a cat.

The London Evening Standard newspaper reports that 82-year-old Kathleen Bates from Breaston in Derbyshire was travelling on the bus just before 11am on 7 May. She suffered serious injuries after being thrown from her seat and was taken to Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, where she died at around 1.30pm that day.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Louise Pinder said that Mrs Bates had nothing to hang onto as the bus came to an abrupt stop.

The coroner’s office confirmed that Ms Pinder had stated at the inquest:

‘I make a finding that the design and location of this seat contributed to Mrs Bates' fall and therefore ultimately her death.’

The cause of death was given as a cervical spine fracture.

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