A doctor was investigated for manslaughter following concerns he failed to diagnose a medical condition which killed a patient.

An inquest heard Dr Michael Sharman, a GP in Hove, was quizzed by police after Roger Thompson died of pneumonia caused by a hernia, but the Crown Prosecution Service took no action.

Yesterday, Coroner Victoria Hamilton-Deeley concluded there was "no evidence of neglect on the part of Dr Sharman".

Mr Thompson's family are suing the GP for negligence.

Mr Thompson, 60, was found dead at his home in Hove Street, Hove, by his wife Valerie five days after Dr Sharman diagnosed he was suffering from a sickness virus.

Detective Sergeant Kate Witt told the inquest in Brighton that police were alerted when a post-mortem examination revealed a hernia.

She said: "There were concerns the standard of examination may have fallen below the expected standards and therefore exposed a case of gross negligence and potentially a manslaughter case."

The inquest heard Mr Thompson, who worked as a store-keeper at Shoreham Harbour for 40 years, was taken ill last February with vomiting, sudden weight loss, loss of appetite and constipation.

Mrs Thompson, who now lives in Haywards Heath, said the couple visited Dr Sharman after ten to 12 days because her husband was not getting any better.

Dr Sharman, who has been a GP at the surgery in West Way for 40 years, said he examined Mr Thompson's body in the usual way but detected no sign of a hernia, a rupture in the abdominal wall, which would usually be obvious from a lump in the groin area.

He was not aware Mr Thompson had surgery for a hernia in 1966.

The doctor gave him anti-sickness drugs and told him to come back in a week if things had not improved and sooner if he got worse, the inquest heard.

Dr Sharman said: "There was at the time a serious epidemic of viral gastritis going round."

Mrs Thompson's solicitor, Martin Cray, put it to Dr Sharman that he had made a mistake in his diagnosis, had not checked thoroughly and was looking in the wrong place.

The GP was told he did not have to respond to these accusations because it is not the purpose of an inquest to apportion blame.

Pathologist Andrew Rainey said Mr Thompson died from pneumonia in the lungs caused by the hernia blocking part of his bowel.

Dr Rainey told the inquest Mr Thompson was otherwise fit and well and there was a good chance he would have survived had the hernia been diagnosed and operated on before the pneumonia took hold.

Pathologist Nathanial Carey said it was possible the hernia could have occurred after Dr Sharman's examination.

He added: "Doctor Sharman's findings would support the possible explanation that the hernia had been caused by pressure on the abdomen due to vomiting from a sickness bug."

Coroner Victoria Hamilton-Deeley said: "There's room for not-inconsiderable speculation about whether or not the hernia would have been detectable at the examination."

She recorded a verdict that Mr Thompson died through a naturally occurring, previously undiagnosed hernia.