Saturday, July 26, 2008

Man, 74, died after days trapped with head stuck down drain

An elderly man died after getting his head stuck down a drain and becoming trapped there for days. An inquest revealed bizarre details of the death of 74-year-old William Edward Lea.

The hearing was told how his body was found sticking out of a manhole in a conservatory at his bungalow in the village of Cartmel, Cumbria, a few miles south of the Lake District.

A pathologist's report said that Mr Lea had been stuck in the drain for several days by the time he died.

A police officer said she had found letters in the house relating to recent work which had been carried out on the house drains.

They revealed that Mr Lea had been told by contractors that further examination of the drains was needed, possibly using a CCTV camera. It was possible that Mr Lea became trapped as he tried to examine the drains for himself.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Ian Smith said the cause was asphyxia. He added that Mr Lea had either become trapped whilst examining the drain or had tripped and fallen into it while the cover was off.

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