A man has fallen and died in an accident while out walking with the family dog.

John Rudd, 55, above, who lived with his father at Well Lane, Curbridge, had tried to get over a barbed-wire fence, lost his balance and became impaled on a broken fence post.

John Rudd Mr Rudd then collapsed on the edge of farm fields near his village home outside Witney, suffering internal bleeding.

His black poodle Chota, pictured, ran home, where the alarm was raised.

Yesterday, Mr Rudd's sister, Barbara Young, spoke to the Oxford Mail about the "tragic loss" of her popular brother.

His body was found after a police operation around Curbridge, which involved a helicopter and tracker dogs.

"At first they had to investigate everything because they did not know whether there was anything suspicious. But John had a tragic accident," said Mrs Young, who lives near Milton Keynes.

"Chota had come back to the house on his own and at first Dad not think too much about it. But he later noticed the collar was missing. My brother was an epileptic who had the odd seizure, so Dad 'phoned me and I said it would be better to call the police."

Mr Rudd worked for many years at the Bowyers and Nothern Foods factory in Witney and was registered disabled.

An inquest was being opened today and the funeral will be at Curbridge parish church on Thursday at 3pm.