A British aircraft engineer died in a gruesome bloodbath this morning after he is believed to have fallen through a sliding glass door in a freak accident in Thailand.

Gareth John Wilson, 53, from Staines, Surrey, went drinking with friends before returning to his family's villa - where his wife and child live with him and are aware of the death - in an upmarket housing estate in Pattaya.

The aircraft specialist is said to have woken up hungover this morning, April 3, and walked over to the bathroom. However, he lost his balance on the slippery bathroom tiles and crashed through the glass sliding door of the toilet.

The large shards pierced through his chest, tearing through skin and flesh and exposing the muscle underneath.

Despite the huge hole in his chest, the Brit managed to stagger back toward the bed as his frantic wife called for an ambulance. However, he soon succumbed to his grievous wounds.

Gareth's devastated wife Lek Wilson said today that she was in shock following the death.

She said: 'I have just finished speaking with the police. I cannot believe what has happened, I'm in shock. Gareth was so strong and healthy. He was everything to me.'

Police Lieutenant Colonel Surasing Sukmak of Huay Yai Police Station said officers received a report at 7:10 am.

Officers arrived at the one-storey home in the upmarket neighbourhood and found Gareth's family distraught over the accident.

Speaking today, the officer said: 'There were four people in the house when the incident occurred. They were the husband, the wife, their daughters.

'The room where it happened was the shared bedroom of the husband and wife.

'A security camera in the middle of the house recorded a very loud sound of glass breaking at around 6:30 am.

'The man's wife ran and told their daughter who was staying in another room to help her dad who fell on the shards of the glass door.

'The blood was concentrated in one place. No suspicious items were found. We are sure that it was clear that he died by falling on the glass.

'The deceased was a large man, so it would have been easy for a man of his size to break through the glass door.

'It is unconfirmed whether he was drunk or not. His family said he had been drinking with his friends the night before and returned home at about midnight. His family said he has a congenital heart disease.'

Cops investigated the couple's bathroom, where pieces of frosted glass lay on top of a pool of crimson blood.

A lifeless Gareth was on the blood-soaked bed wearing a pair of black shorts. The glass shards had peeled off a huge chunk of flesh from his chest and neck area.

Investigators said there were no signs of fighting in the room. They were waiting for the family to regain composure before proceeding with interrogations.

Meanwhile, Gareth's body was sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for a post-mortem exam.

The Brit is listed as being a full-time base engineer with PHI Aviation of Lafayette, Louisiana.

He was also a handicapped golfer, with a rank of 1,297 nationally in Thailand.