Norwich landlord Ivan Brown died in pursuit of perfect photo

Ivan Brown, a longstanding landlord of the Murderers in Norwich, died while on holiday with a close friend in India earlier this year.

An inquest into his death heard that Mr Brown had electrocuted himself while attempting to steady himself using an overhead cable - which he was unaware was live.

The accident happened in the district of Chamba after the 71-year-old had clambered onto a low roof as a vantage point to take a photograph overlooking the mountain range.

Ivan Brown, former landlord of the Murderers in Norwich (Image: Newsquest)

The court heard Mr Brown was six weeks into an eight-week Indian trip with his friend David Linder, with the pair fulfilling a lifelong ambition to visit the nation.

The pair had already visited several sites including Delhi and the Taj Mahal, not stopping in one place to ensure they saw as much of the country as possible.

The incident happened in Baikunth Nagar near Dalhousie on April 2.

Mr Linder said: "We were just a couple of septuagenarians backpacking across India to discover the history, culture and geography of a fascinating country - although in reality we were staying in hotels and driving.

"As we were leaving our hotel we found the most stunning view and asked our driver to pull over.

"Ivan was always in pursuit of the perfect photograph and reached up on a cable not realising it was live."

The shock caused Mr Brown to fall backwards, hitting his head on the wall below.

Mr Linder added: "I believe he died instantly."

Area coroner for Norfolk Yvonne Blake concluded that Mr Brown's death had been an accident.

Mr Brown, of Upper King Street, Norwich, served as landlord of the popular pub in Timber Hill between 1984 and 2003.