WALTHAMSTOW: Mystery surrounds teenager drain death

2:07pm Tuesday 8th July 2008

A WORKMATE of a teenager who died after falling down a Walthamstow manhole admitted "I could have stopped him", an inquest heard.

Paul Jackson, 19, was working for MTS Cleaning Services clearing drain blockages for Thames Water, when he suffered a heart attack while trying to retrieve a piece of broken manhole cover.

He died days later from brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen and water on the lungs, believed to have beeen caused by methane gas at the bottom of the shaft.

But why he risked his life to clear the debris remains a mystery because Mr Jackson, who was on a three month probation period, was not trained to work in confined spaces.

The jury heard that Mr Jackson and engineers Mr Tregidgo and Anthony Standing had been removing a manhole cover in Blackhorse Road, at the junction of Tavistock Road, when a corner broke off and fell down the shaft.

To prevent it blocking the sewer, it should have been removed by specialist engineers.

Mr Tregidgo told the court that he went to his truck to telephone for assistance, and when he returned to the scene there was "no-one by the manhole" and he spotted Paul collapsed at the bottom.

But in an earlier signed statement, which Mr Tregidgo said he could not recall, he said: "When I got out of the cab, I saw Paul going down and he appeared to be climbing down the hole. He should not have gone down there and I could have stopped him".

Mr Standing did not appear at the inquest as requested, but wrote in an earlier statement that he provided Mr Jackson with overalls, but had no idea he was going to go down, and had been putting his laptop in his car when the accident happened. There were no other witnesses to the accident.

The court heard that Mr Jackson was not breathing properly when emergency services arrived and had vomit around his mouth and his lips were blue.

Firefighter Craig Robinson made a brave "snatch" rescue using a ladder, and Mr Jackson was resuscitated and taken to Whipps Cross Hospital. But he died four days later, on November 2, 2006.

Paul's mother, Julie Jackson, of Berwick Road, Custom House, told the court: "He was not a young man who took things upon himself. He would wait to be guided and knew his own boundaries.

She said Paul had been a "fit and healthy" young man before the accident. She added that he was popular and well-liked and that the family had been "overwhelmed with the people who spoke so highly of him at his funeral".

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is still investigating the tragedy.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

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