A mentally ill Frenchman died on Sunday after gouging out his eyes and impaling himself on a post as authorities tried to restrain him, a police source said.

The man, who had a history of psychiatric illness, was being driven to hospital by his wife in the southern French city of Marseille.

He escaped and tried to fling himself under a bus, the driver of which alerted authorities.

As police tried to control him, he gouged out his eyes and impaled himself on the post that was holding up a fence, sustaining fatal injuries.