A DAD who died falling head first into a manhole was discovered by a worker who saw a “pair of legs” poking out, an inquest heard.
Andrew Barker, 56, was making his way home from the pub when he toppled into the hole, which had been dug by gas engineers.
At the time of the horror in January, Storm Isha had hit the UK – with strong winds blowing over safety barriers around the roadworks.
The retired NHS nurse was discovered worker at the site at noticed “a pair of legs” sticking out of the hole, an inquest heard.
Tragically, Andrew couldn’t be saved and was declared dead at the scene in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Bradford Coroners Court was told the dad-of-two’s death would have been “immediate” as his respiratory function was impaired due to the position he was in.
His cause of death was given as postural asphyxiation and alcohol intoxication.
The inquest was told Andrew had been at his local pub before heading back to a friend’s house.
Although he had been drinking, he was not “substantially over the limit”.
At around 2am, Andrew decided to head home – with police believing he may have tried to take a shortcut when he fell.
Detective Sergeant Lee Worsnam told the court another theory was that Andrew could have tripped over a tuft of grass or the barriers if they were down.
But coroner Martin Fleming said there “could have been any number of combinations that caused him to precipitate into this manhole”.
The court heard an amber weather warning for wind had been put in place due to the storm.
Matthew Deekes, who managed the site on behalf of subcontractors, said the barriers were in place with sandbags when he left work at 4pm on Friday.
The court heard additional support teams were also put in place for Northern Gas Networks’ sites in Bradford across that weekend.
Around 40 extra sandbags had been added to the site on Sunday evening before the tragic fall.
There was no evidence to show whether the barriers were up properly when Andrew made his way home, the court heard.
The coroner concluded Andrew’s death was accidental.
A family statement, from ex-wife Sam and daughters Holly and Hannah, said they had “many happy memories” with Andrew, who they said “was a joker and loved to make people laugh.”
He was described as being “mischievous”, “intelligent”, and “scarily quick-witted” and a stalwart in the community.
