MIX OF FACTORS LED TO GRANDAD’S TRAGEDY
INQUEST COMES TO ITS CONCLUSION AFTER THREE-DAY HEARING
Heart disease, alcohol, drugs and ‘the stress and exertion of a prolonged period of restraint’ all contributed to the death of a grandfather thrown out of a nightclub, an inquest jury has said.
Ceramic tiler Stewart Anderson was on a night out at the Loveshack in Walkergate, Durham, with friends when he and another man were removed from the venue by door staff at about 1am on Sunday, July 24, 2016.
An inquest heard how Mr Anderson, of Eppleton Row, Hetton, was “pinned to the ground” by bouncers outside as they tried to stop him from lashing out following on from an assault on security staff.
Police were called to an area outside the club known as The Well, and handcuffs were placed on him as he was facing forward.
But when they lifted the 54-year-old to his feet, he was blue and seemed to have lost consciousness, with CPR given before paramedics arrived.
He died later that morning at the University Hospital of North Durham, with pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton finding he died as a result of a mix of drugs and alcohol, with Ecstasy and cocaine found in his system, along with enough alcohol to have put him at twice the legal drink-drive limit, heart disease and the stress of being restrained.
An 11-strong jury spent yesterday considering the evidence given by police and door staff during the preceding three days at the hearing in Crook.
The conclusion given fole-vidence. lowing several hours of deliberation was: “The factors contributing to Mr Stewart Anderson’s death were underlying heart disease, alcohol and drugs combined with the stress and exertion of a prolonged period of restraint.”
Senior assistant coroner Crispin Oliver thanked the jury for their “attentiveness and hard work” during the last few days, adding: “You have done your duty in exemplary fashion.”
Mr Stewart was dad to Kelly Beston and Kay Allcroft, and grandad to Kay’s daughter, with Kay leading a moving tribute to Mr Anderson during Thursday’s Mr Oliver told them yesterday: “Thank you, and I hope you can get your lives together.”
A spokesman for SecuriCorp, which employed the door staff involved in the incident and efforts to save Mr Anderson, released a statement, which also praised Mr Anderson’s daughter Kay Allcroft, who represented the family during the inquest hearing.
He said: “I hope these past four days in the coroner’s court have drawn an end to the devastating loss for the family and also the effect it has had on other people’s lives involved with the case.
“It has been proved that no criminal acts were carried out by either door staff or the security company, although we will be making some recommendations and improvements to the Government and the Security Industry Authority (SIA)
“Once again our condolences to the family and respect at strength of Kay for representing them.”