Retired college lecturer George Owen, 78, was manoeuvring it using a battery-operated device attached to the axle, when for an unknown reason the 21ft-long caravan suddenly rolled forward down a slight incline. The inquest at Llandudno was told that the tow bar smashed through his garage door, and Mr Owen was pinned against a wall as his wife Annie watched.

An ambulance arrived quickly but Mr Owen, of Ffordd Uchaf, Upper Colwyn Bay, died almost three weeks later in Glan Clwyd Hospital. He'd received multiple injuries.

Mrs Owen said her husband was moving the caravan to its normal position after the caravan holiday in Spain. "I miss George greatly, I'm lost without him," she said.

A verdict of accidental death was recorded. Coroner John Hughes told his widow: "It's been an awful experience for you."

He added: "You had returned from a lovely holiday and everything was just perfect. On that fateful day your husband was attempting to do something he had done dozens of times before without mishap."