A MAN who was badly beaten in a vicious attack in Taunton eight years ago has died in a nursing home, an inquest has heard.

Corin Englebert, 46 at the time of his death, suffered severe head injuries in the assault which started in Fore Street and carried on into High Street in January 2011.

Mr Englebert, who had been a patient at Pendine Park Home, Wrexham, died from sepsis due to bronchial pneumonia as a result of the head injury, a post mortem examination revealed.

John Gittins, the coroner for North Wales East and Central, said he had been informed by Avon and Somerset Police that Mr Englebert and his girlfriend were seen having a row in Taunton town centre in January 2011.

Passer by Lee da Silva intervened and punched Mr Englebert to the floor and then kicked him, the inquest was told.

The victim, of no fixed address but who had been staying at Harriet Foster House, in Mary Street, got up and started walking away.

But da Silva, now 29, attacked him again and kicked him several times to the head, causing a serious brain injury, the inquest heard.

The attack was said to be entirely unprovoked but da Silva, a chef, told police he believed the woman was being assaulted. The police said the attack was out of character.

da Silva was extremely remorseful but was jailed for 10 years after admitting assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He was released from prison after serving half his sentence.

Mr Englebert, whose parents travelled from Australia to visit him after the incident, spent six months in hospital before moving to Pendine Park.

He was fed through a stomach tube but had lost a considerable amount of weight prior to his death.

The coroner recorded a narrative conclusion in which he stated that Mr Englebert suffered a serious head injury as a result of the assault.

Following the attack, Mr Englebert was rushed to Musgrove Park Hospital, in Taunton, and later transferred to Frenchay Hospital, in Bristol, in what was described at the time as a "serious" condition.