the equivalent of 14 cans of beer, an inquest heard yesterday.

Mr. Richard Garland Woods, 36, fractured his skull after falling onto a concrete patio below his St. George's apartment.

Inquest witnesses told how attempts to resuscitate him failed as he lay unconscious, bleeding from his mouth, nose, and ears.

He died shortly afterwards in King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Consultant pathologist Dr. John Winwick said Woods died from a large skull fracture, and contusion of the brain.

"It is consistent with falling from a height of around 18 feet on to his back. It's difficult to produce these injuries in a fight.'' Dr. Winwick, reading another doctor's Police statement, said Mr. Woods had drunk the equivalent of 14 cans of beer or 14 ounces of spiritous liquor.

Yesterday Coroner the Hon. John Judge recorded a verdict of accidental death.

"I would like to express the sympathy of this court to the family of the deceased,'' he said.

Mr. Woods, a handyman with Riihiluoma's in Queen Street, fell to his death on October 8 last year at his single-room apartment in Water Street, near the nightclub Sensations.

It was claimed he lost his balance as he tried to climb round the balcony.

Coroner's officer Sgt. Rex Osborne took witnesses through the events surrounding the tragedy.

Ms Madeline Smith, of Happy Valley Road, Pembroke, who works at Gosling Brothers, told how Mr. Woods had entered the drinks store in the morning and afternoon of October 8 to buy Guinness.

She said both times he had been in a friendly mood, although he did not say much.

When he appeared in the afternoon, Mr. Woods did not show any signs of being drunk, added Ms Smith.

"It was quite a shock when I heard he had passed away.'' Mr. Ralph William Scott, a neighbour of Mr. Woods in Rum Alley, recalled how he had heard a bang on the evening of October 8.

"It sounded like a pot banging or a piece of furniture. I did not hear anyone shouting or screaming.'' Mr. Scott said he later saw Mr. Woods lying on the patio, with blood coming from his mouth, ears and nose.

"He was breathing. I don't know whether it was with effort or normally,'' he said.

Mr. Scott described Mr. Woods, whom he knew as Rick, as a likeable person, a keen fisherman, and an excellent painter.

Sgt. Donald Grant, based at St. George's, said he too saw Mr. Woods bleeding profusely.

"I felt for a pulse. It was strong, but he was having difficulty breathing because of the blood.'' Sgt. Grant said he entered Mr. Woods' apartment, which was generally untidy.

He saw a glass containing beer, and a number of empty beer bottles. There had been no sign of a struggle.

Sgt. Grant said Mr. Woods had been wearing only shorts when he was found.

P.c. Mark Clarke gave the inquest details of Mr. Woods' background.

He said Mr. Woods, an art lover and accomplished musician, had held a number of jobs in Bermuda, including one at the old Holiday Inn, St. George's.

P.c. Clarke added Mr. Woods' parents lived in Phoenix, Arizona, and last saw their son in May 1977.