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A SECOND World War veteran died because of the wound inflicted by the Nazis 67 years ago, an inquest heard yesterday.

Percival Tilley, 91, was shot in the leg by the Germans on D-Day in 1944 and was left with a limp.

Tragedy struck this September when the ex-Welsh Guardsman was at a hotel to meet old Army comrades.

Percival was dressed in his Welsh Guards blazer when his leg gave way at the top of a flight of stairs.

He plunged 20ft to the bottom and suffered fatal head injuries. The inquest heard that the wound he sustained in France was a “contributory factor” to the fall in Cardiff.

His son Dr Rob Tilley told the hearing in the city: “Dad was very fit but as he got older he struggled with his right foot. He had a leg brace and should have used a cane but pride prevented this.”

Coroner Mary Hassell recorded a verdict of accidental death and said: “He had a compromise to one of his legs and this gave him a problem going down the stairs.”

Percival emigrated to Oregon in the US after the war and died on one of his regular return trips to see pals. He was found by hotel staff after the fall and died in hospital.