THE WA coroner will investigate the death of a man who was trespassing at a Perth home and suffered cardiac arrest while being held down by the resident until police arrived.

The resident had been out walking his dogs when he returned to his Lockridge home in August 2015 and found two men dressed in black in his carport.

One of the men jumped over a fence and fled, but the resident struggled with the other man, Joseph Frederick Woods.

The resident held the 34-year-old on the ground for about 15 minutes until police arrived.

The first officer on the scene found he did not have a pulse and commenced CPR while an ambulance was called.

Mr Woods was taken to hospital but could not be revived.