An 85-year-old man died after his electric wheelchair toppled out of the back of a Dial-A-Ride taxi-bus outside his local supermarket.

Pensioner James Hunt fell less than three feet but suffered serious head and chest injuries outside the main entrance to Morrisons in Clarence Road, Hartlepool.

He died six hours later in the town's University Hospital.

The Dial-A-Ride service is operated by Hartlepool Borough Council under a contract to Camerons Taxis which has specially adapted vehicles.

Mr Hunt, of nearby Seaton Carew, was the only passenger on board the vehicle which had picked him up and taken him to the Morrisons supermarket yesterday lunchtime.

The minibus had stopped outside the main entrance to the store and the driver had lowered the rear tail lift to allow the pensioner to get off.

Police said it appeared Mr Hunt was then reversing his electric wheelchair out of the bus when it fell off the rear tail lift of the vehicle.

A Cleveland Police spokesman said: ''It's believed Mr Hunt had reversed his vehicle from the passenger area of the bus on to the lift but failed to stop.

''His vehicle hit a physical stop on the floor of the tailgate which appears to have been forced out of position by the rear wheels of his invalid carriage.

''He then fell less than a metre on to the ground and died six hours later in the University Hospital of Hartlepool.''

A spokesman for Hartlepool Borough Council, which operates the service for elderly and disabled people, said: ''The council and the police, working with the Health and Safety Executive are investigating to establish exactly what happened.

''Obviously our thoughts are with the family of Mr Hunt at this very sad time.''

Nobody at Camerons Taxis was available to comment.