A beloved father and former councillor died on his way back from holiday after contracting sepsis, an inquest heard.

Former sea captain Reg Belcourt, 75, from Hythe, died on Saturday, June 15 -19 days after falling over in Mauritius and breaking both his shoulders.

The dad-of-five had surgery but complications followed, including respiratory problems and an infection plus delays in his repatriation.

He died on the way back to the UK during a crew change over in Nuremberg, Germany.

Eight members of his family, including his children and their partners, attended an inquest yesterday at Archbishop's Palace in Maidstone.

Evidence presented at the hour-long hearing revealed Mr Belcourt had flown to Mauritius for a three week trip but shortly after arriving on Tuesday, May 28 he slipped in wet weather at a shopping centre, breaking his right and left shoulder.

He was admitted to hospital and had two operations - one on Thursday, May 30 and a second on Saturday, June 1.

He initially recovered well but some anxiety and delirium followed, as well as respiratory problems and his children flew out to be with him.

Mr Belcourt, a grandfather of 13, was kept on a ventilator until his repatriation, which was initially arranged for June 12, but was delayed until June 15.

But as the medical plane came in to land at Nuremberg Airport, in order to change pilots, Mr Belcourt went into arrest.

Resuscitation attempts were made on the plane and emergency crews also met the team at the airport but Mr Belcourt could not be saved.

From medical notes read out during the hearing, it was revealed his temperature had peaked two days before his flight, suggesting an infection had set in, but he was still deemed fit to fly.

A pathologist who gave evidence said Mr Belcourt had an existing condition of cardiomegaly - a heavy heart - but found no clotting or thrombosis in the organ or in his lungs.

He said the heavy heart, the two fractures and him being kept on a ventilator for some time - which could have led to a respiratory infection causing sepsis - were all 'contributory factors'.

During the inquest, Mr Belcourt's family raised concerns over the length of time he was kept on a ventilator due to the delay in bringing him home, caused by issues with the travel company.

His daughter Stephanie said: "The question I am asking is if they had repatriated him sooner, could he have been saved and I think the answer is yes.

"The conversation I had with a doctor in Mauritius was the longer he was kept on a ventilator the more prone he was to infection.

"Effectively, what they feared would happen, did."

Catherine Wood, assistant coroner for south east Kent, described the cause of death as 'relatively complicated'.

She gave a narrative conclusion.

She said: "He died of consequences of prologued ventilation following surgery for fractures from a fall, on the back of cardiomegaly."

She offered her condolences to his family.

Mr Belcourt, whose full name was Louis Edwin Regis Belcourt but known as Reg, was previously a sea captain who worked for Stena Line.

He was married to Keren Belcourt, former mayor of the town who died in 2014 after a fall at home.

The couple had five children between them and also fostered.

He was also a dedicated member of Hythe Town Council having served from May 1999 to May 2003 and then again from May 2007 to May 2019.

Speaking after the inquest, Mr Belcourt's family said they think of him everyday and described him as a 'wonderful, kind family man'.

The family added: "We would like to thank everyone for their support, especially the people of Hythe, the town that he very much loved."

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