A 41-year-old from Bideford has been cautioned for assaulting a man who later that night was killed by a car after stepping out of an ambulance.

Andrew Scott Hamilton, 32, from Glasgow, was en route to hospital following the Cooper Street assault when he got out of an ambulance and was hit by a white Nissan Almera car.

Mr Hamilton was killed near the Holmacott layby between Bideford and Barnstaple in the early hours of Sunday, June 13.

Earlier Mr Hamilton had been punched and knocked unconscious. The man who assaulted him has now been cautioned and police say no further action will be taken.

Mr Hamilton is the son of Appledore Shipyard's shipbuilding director, Andrew Hamilton.

His father said he and his wife would be meeting with police investigators this week when they would be updated on the situation.

He said: "It could be a year before the inquest and we're just trying to put the grief behind us."

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust has been carrying out an investigation into the death.

It has not commented while the investigation is underway.

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police previously told the Journal they would not be pursuing any criminal proceedings against the ambulance service, because it was not negligent.

It is believed paramedics stopped the ambulance after Mr Hamilton woke up and became agitated.

A section of the A39 was closed for nearly ten hours while specialist accident investigators examined the scene.