Racehorse trainer Hugh Mulryan, 25, died from smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in his Volkswagen Passat near Malton, North Yorkshire, an inquest heard. The coroner concluded that his death was accidental, with investigators believing a cigarette likely ignited flammable material in the car’s front footwell. The case highlights the fatal risks of smoking inside a vehicle, particularly when it is parked in an isolated location where a fire may go unnoticed.

Mulryan had moved from County Galway to Ryedale two days earlier to begin work with trainer Adrian Keatley, following an evening at a Malton pub where he drank four or five pints of Guinness. His alcohol level was just above the drink-drive limit, and he had earlier driven the wrong way around a roundabout before colliding with another car; nobody was injured and he drove away. Police found the largely burnt-out car at about 4am on 16 June, and the inquest could not establish whether he had been asleep when the fire began.