Father died from punch after trying to break up group - coroner

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A father-of-four died after he was punched in the head by a man trying to move on a group socialising outside some flats in Hastings, a Hawkes Bay coroner has found.

Walsh Perston, 23, died after a blow to the head by Dylan Gerrard on May 11in 2010. At the time Mr Gerrard said he punched Mr Perston in self-defence.

Mr Gerrard was charged with manslaughter but a jury trial at the High Court in Napier in August last year found him not guilty.

The coroner's report into Mr Perston's death was released today.

It found he died from a haemorrhage caused from a blow to the head.

Coroner Christopher Devonport said Mr Gerrard came down from a flat above the shops in Hastings late in the evening of May 11, 2010, to move on a group which had gathered outside the shops after socialising at a neighbouring address.

"Mr Perston and Mr Gerrard had an altercation during which Mr Gerrard struck Mr Perston, causing his death," Mr Devonport found.