A man died after a hospital delayed surgery on his fractured hip, an inquest heard.

During the wait Stanley Hill, 90, a road accident victim, developed complications partly due to his immobility.

Staff at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, were then forced to postpone the essential surgery.

The inquest heard that the operation was delayed because the operating theatres were busy with emergencies.

Brighton and Hove Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley told the hearing she intended to write to the chief executive of Brighton Healthcare NHS Trust about the case, which she said highlighted deficiencies in the NHS.

She said: "As time went by the risks to him as a result of him being immobile increased.

"I am told by the experts if he had the operation there was no reason to believe he would not have made a good recovery.

"He was intended to have the operation over the weekend. He was extremely unfortunate because by early the next week it was too late for him to have his operation."

The inquest heard that Mr Hill, a retired factory worker of Upper Hollingdean Road, Brighton, suffered from chronic obstructive airways disease but was fit and well for his age.

The accident happened when Mr Hill popped out to buy a copy of The Argus on Friday, September 8.

He was hit by a car and knocked to the ground as he waited to cross the road near his home. The driver sped away and has never been traced.

Doctors at the Royal Sussex informed Mr Hill's family that he had a fractured hip and would be operated on the following day.

His daughter-in-law Yvonne Hill of Beech Grove, Brighton, told how the family grew increasingly concerned when the operation was delayed.

She said: "Every day it went on. One day he was taken to the operating theatre but then he was taken back to the ward again."

By Monday Mr Hill had developed a severe chest infection and was deemed unfit for surgery. Other medical complications developed and he died of pneumonia nine days after the accident.

Orthopaedic surgeon Robin Turner said: "The problem was, there were so many emergencies over the weekend we had to prioritise the cases as to which was the most important."

He said staff had hoped the chest infection could be treated and the surgery would then take place.

Melinda Stone of Brighton Healthcare said the demand for surgical services that weekend exceeded the available facilities.

She said a review of the case had been carried out in order to discover whether lessons could be learned from Mr Hill's death.

She said: "We are always juggling to make sure we do the best we can."

The coroner returned a verdict of death caused as a result of an accident.

She added that had Mr Hill received surgery, there was no reason to suppose he would not have made a good recovery.