A SUSPECTED arsonist from High Wycombe died when his £180,000 pleasure cruiser smashed into a bridge in Yorkshire, a coroner heard.

Experienced mariner Nicholas Lightowler, 57, of Amersham Road, Hazlemere, died from multiple crushing injuries when his new motor boat crashed into York's Skeldergate Bridge on August 3, 2002.

The inquest heard that Mr Lightowler, had been due to appear before Wycombe Magistrates Court two days after the crash.

He had been charged with torching his £750,000 thatched cottage and recklessly endangering life.

But immediately after the fire Mr Lightowler moved to Halton, Leeds, when he split with his girlfriend.

Mr Lightowler's sister, Caroline Pullen, told the inquest he had been in "high spirits" when she visited him at his Leeds home the day before the collision.

In a statement read out during the hearing, Mrs Pullen said: "He seemed happy and was enjoying life, and had not given me any cause for concern.

"He enjoyed boating as a hobby and was an experienced mariner."

Mr Lightowler had bought the boat a Sealine F33 from Naburn Marina before taking it onto the River Ouse hours later.

This was despite the river flooding because of torrential rain.

The marina's yard manager, Raymond Howe, said Mr Lightowler had seemed unsteady on his feet when he picked up the boat, but was convinced he had not been drinking.

The court also heard that Mr Lightowler suffered from ill health and required daily kidney dialysis.

The body of Mr Lightowler, a retired director of PowerHouse electrical goods company, was dragged out of the River Ouse two weeks after the crash.

Yorkshire coroner Donald Coverdale, said he could not be sure exactly where Mr Lightowler had fallen into the river.

Police underwater search teams found Mr Lightowler's body. It could only be identified using dental records.

Recording a rarely-used narrative verdict at New Earswick Folk Hall, York, on Monday, May 16, Mr Coverdale concluded that Mr Lightowler's injuries were consistent with "an impact with a heavy bridge structure".

A narrative verdict is one in which a coroner simply records the circumstances surrounding the death.