An inquest into the death of a man who died after being struck in the face by a manhole cover has been opened.

Daniel Yeowell, 26, of Albany Road, Gillingham, was taken to hospital with a serious head injury when he was hit while working at a primary school in Crawley, West Sussex.

People near the scene said the man was down a manhole when a cover on chains came loose and hit him on the head, causing serious injuries.

Mr Yeowell, who was employed by Balfour Beatty, was flown by air ambulance to the Royal London Hospital in London, on Friday, October 4, but he died last Monday afternoon.

After the incident, a joint investigation by police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been launched.

The inquest, originally due to be opened on Monday, was opened and adjourned yesterday (Tuesday). A pre-inquest hearing is due to be held in six months and a full inquest will be held at a later date.

A postmortem established the cause of death to be head injuries.