Businessman died after wasp sting

A businessman died within minutes of being stung in the mouth by a wasp as he was eating ice cream, an inquest has been told.

Victor Leslie, 57, a former European president of the computer games company Sega, had been clearing away a barbecue with his family on Sunday. He died from asphyxiation after his tongue swelled up within minutes of being stung.

His widow, Pat, 57, described how family and friends tried to save her husband. "A friend came out of the kitchen and said he [Victor] had been stung in the mouth as he had finished eating some ice cream," she said. "He had wanted to know if he should take some anti-histamine and I said he should straight away.

"Then he came out and he did not look well at all. His lips were beginning to swell. He came staggering out and then just fell over a plant pot."

An ambulance was called to the family home on the Isle of Wight while Mrs Leslie used artificial respiration and chest massage to keep her husband alive. "But it was just too late," she said.

Mrs Leslie, paying tribute to her husband, who had a son Damian, 24, and stepson David, 36, and three grandchildren, said: "Vic was a man who conducted his successful business interests with honesty, kindness and fairness. He would always put himself out to help others. He was just a lovely, kind man.

"I have had calls from his friends all over the world and everyone says what a wonderful, kind-hearted person Vic was. Everyone already misses him like crazy."

Whether Mr Leslie suffered an acute reaction to the sting known as anaphylaxis is not yet clear. The inquest was opened and adjourned to allow for further tests.