WEST Dorset Coroner Michael Johnston warned today that the county could lose its own coroner service in a shake-up due to be announced this autumn.

He fears his post would go - leaving at best one coroner for the whole of Dorset.

It is also possible Dorset would have to share a coroner with another county - meaning long journeys for people attending inquests.

The change comes under new legislation due to be unveiled in the next session of parliament.

He said discussions are already under way with the country's 120 coroners. But he believes the Coroners Reform Bill will miss an opportunity to improve the service and would result in a worse situation for the coroners themselves and for the general public.

Coroners conduct judicial investigations into unexplained deaths.

Richard I created the office around 800 years ago to look into sudden deaths.

Mr Johnston said changes suggested in the wording of the bill would see the number of coroners halved and changes brought in about the way inquests, especially jury inquests, would be handled.

Mr Johnston said: "It would be downgrading the role of coroners and will increase the workload.

"We all know it will be under-funded. Local authorities will have to fund it and they all say they have no money and the government has said there will be no central government money.

"It doesn't look as though there will be more resources but the remaining coroners would be asked to take on more duties.

"This will not only diminish the role of coroners - it will greatly inconvenience people. They are likely to have to travel much further to attend inquests."

He said if the bill becomes law the changes could come into effect in 2010. The change in law has been in the pipeline since 1999.

Mr Johnston, 64, said: "I expect I'll be made redundant and I would have liked to have gone on to the retirement age of 70. I am sure this won't work in my favour but I don't think it will benefit the public either."

He said the Coroners' Society was concerned about implications in the bill. One concern was the increase in the number of relatives coroners would be obliged to contact following a death.

He said: "The new definition of interested parties would be expanded almost to include the man in the moon. At present we contact the next of kin and immediate family."

Mr Johnston has been a coroner for 28 years and served as deputy and assistant coroner before that.

He said: "I think the office of coroner protects the general public. We can expose errors such as failings in operations and keep tabs on a number of nursing homes and we can and have highlighted the dangers of road junctions to get improvements."

East Dorset has a dedicated coroner's court at Bournemouth but West Dorset has to use rooms at County Hall in Dorchester for inquests.

Mr Johnston added: "Dorset used to have five coroners. It won't benefit the public to reduce it again."