Police horses are regularly used in crowd control

David Lindsay released a statement following the inquest verdict of accidental death on Mr Cole at Doncaster Magistrates Court on Thursday.

He said: "I'd like to offer my heartfelt condolences to Mrs Coles's family.

"I'm still extremely distraught about what happened on that day. The last three years have been the worst of my life and have affected me and my family more than anyone will know.

"But I am glad I had the opportunity to attend the inquest and give my side of the story to everybody.

"I had nothing to hide and I wanted to answer every question asked of me, not least from Mrs Coles's family.

"Like countless times before, on the day I was just doing my job to the best of my ability.

"What happened was an accident and I sincerely hope that nothing like this ever happens again, for the sake of everyone involved."

Father-of-three Mr Lindsay, 48, from Doncaster, was medically retired from South Yorkshire Police in May this year after almost 30 years service.

The horse he was riding on the day was called Fulwood.

Speaking outside the court today, South Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Ian Daines said he wanted to express his sympathies to Mr Coles's family and his deep regret that a man died "as the result of going to a football match".

"Police Constable David Lindsay was on horseback when he found himself in the middle of serious disorder at Rotherham football ground on May 6, 2000," he added.

Rotherham's ground - the scene of the tragedy

"Groups of hooligans were hurling missiles and violently assaulting each other.

"Constable Lindsay rode forward to deal with this. "As he did so, his horse collided with Mr Coles who received injuries from which he died.

"The jury's accidental death verdict reflects the evidence given and the circumstances of the incident.

"It also reflects the dangers to the ordinary football fan caused by hooliganism."

Mr Danes said the incident had been "rigorously investigated" by West Yorkshire Police, supervised by the Police Complaints Authority.