Oxfordshire's coroner Nicholas Gardiner has apologised for forcing families to wait longer than anyone else in the country to find out how their loved ones died.

Mr Gardiner admitted it was unacceptable that inquests in the county had taken on average nearly a year to conclude.

He spoke out after the Ministry of Justice revealed grieving relatives in Oxfordshire faced average waits of 46 weeks in 2006 - the longest of any area in England and Wales.

The coroner said the county's average inquest length was "certainly higher than we would want" but insisted the situation was improving, after the responsibility for hearing inquests into the deaths of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan was switched to Wiltshire.

In April, the Government provided Mr Gardiner with two extra assistant coroners to help clear the backlog in Oxfordshire.

He said: "I knew it was bad but I'm surprised it's quite that bad. I would apologise to families, because we should be dealing with them quicker. It is always regrettable that they have had to wait too long but I think these figures will look a lot better next year, because things have been speeding up."

A number of families complained to the Oxford Mail about the length of time it was taking for inquests to be held.

Jane Cherrill, 54, of Marston Road, Oxford, was told following the death of her son Anthony Oliver last June that the family could have to wait up to 18 months for an inquest.

Mr Oliver, 29, a decorator, died after being hit by a car in London Road, Headington, on June 4 last year.

Mrs Cherrill said an inquest in April recorded a verdict of accidental death, and added: "I still don't feel I have got closure over Anthony's death. It would certainly have helped if we had not had to wait quite so long for the inquest."

The figures, published in response to a Parliamentary Question by Oxford West and Abingdon MP Dr Evan Harris, also showed the county ended last year with 358 inquests outstanding.

Mr Gardiner said the backlog of military inquests would be cleared by February.