Husband in violent nightmare tragedy

Brian Thomas, 60, believed he was wrestling an intruder who had broken into his camper van and was threatening his wife.

But he then awoke to discover he was alone with the dead body of wife Christine, 57, next to him in the bed they shared.

After failing to revive her he called the police and said: "Can you send someone. I think I have killed my wife. I think I have killed her. Oh my God."

The tragedy happened during a summer break when the couple had stopped for the night in a pub car park in Aberporth, West Wales, in July 2008.

They had driven from their home in Neath, near Swansea, and eaten out with friends, an inquest in Aberystwyth heard yesterday.

The hearing was told Mr Thomas suffered from a long-standing sleep disorder and occasionally had "night terrors".

On the night in question drivers had turned up at the car park doing wheel spins and revving their cars.

The father-of-two went on trial at Swansea Crown Court in November last year having already admitted killing her but the case collapsed as the prosecution decided no further evidence would be put forward. When the case against him was dropped the trial judge directed the jury to bring in a formal not guilty verdict.

Peter Brunton, the coroner for Ceredigion, said he had a legal requirement to ensure his verdict was not inconsistent with the trial's outcome.

"In the circumstances of this most remarkable and exceptional and indeed, I venture to say, unique case, I propose to record a narrative verdict," he said.

He added: "The means by which Christine Thomas came by her death was through pressure to her neck involuntarily applied by her husband while he was suffering from a transitory mental condition known as night terror."