Man dies after getting stuck down drain

A man has died after getting stuck head-first down a drain in the Isle of Wight. It is believed the man lifted the drain cover and then crawled in to try to retrieve something he had dropped, before becoming wedged tight.

By the time his body was found only his feet were sticking out of the drain and it is thought his head was underwater.

A passer-by made the discovery, in an alleyway in Newport, at 5.40am yesterday.



A police source said: "A man rang in to say he could see a pair of feet sticking out of a drain - it must have been a bizarre sight. The body was wedged quite tightly and all that was sticking out were his feet. We think his head was underwater.

"The drain cover was lying next to him so it looks like this man may have lifted it after dropping his keys or his mobile phone or something down there." Police have yet to identify the man.

Detective Sergeant David Pilbeam, of Newport CID, said: "We are currently treating this man's death as unexplained and are carrying out extensive inquiries to establish the exact circumstances."