BARRED FROM BUS ON FATAL NIGHT
Student Charlie died after falling into canal
A STUDENT who died after falling into a city-centre canal during a night out had left to go home hours earlier – but was barred from getting on a bus.
Charlie Pope’s body was discovered in the Rochdale Canal on March 2 after he disappeared on a night out during the ‘Beast from the East’ storm.
At his inquest at Manchester Coroner’s Court, his flatmate told how the pair had attempted to head home more than four hours before his death, but a bus driver deemed Charlie ‘too drunk’ to board.
The pair returned to a nightclub, became separated and Charlie is thought to have left alone at around 1.20am before CCTV captured him heading in the direction of his student halls in Fallowfield.
After three ‘missing hours’ he is seen walking back in the direction of town and on to the canal towpath near Rain Bar, where it is believed he fell into the water in what coroner Nigel Meadows has ruled an accidental death.
The 19-year-old’s death thrust canal safety into the spotlight and a petition launched by Charlie’s father Nick for barriers to be placed along the city’s waterways garnered around 100,000 signatures.
After the inquest Nick, from Ponteland in Northumberland, thanked all those who had supported the #MakeCharliethelast campaign.
He added: “I would like to thank everyone for their support in Manchester and beyond and hopefully we are going to see change.
“Charlie was a cracking lad who loved Manchester. I hope now kids like him will be safe.”
Earlier, the court had heard how first-year Manchester University student Charlie, who was studying economics with philosophy, would drink socially like many young people his age.
On February 28, he and flatmate Louis Wright shared from a bottle of rum at their halls – Oak House in Fallowfield – before heading to the Zombie Shack in town, where they drank cocktails.
Mr Wright said a bus driver had told them Charlie was ‘too drunk’ to travel, at which point they returned to the bar.
At around 2am, Mr Wright left, assuming Charlie was with other friends or had gone home to bed.
The next day, he noticed a missed call from his flatmate at 6am but his return calls went unanswered and Charlie was reported missing. On March 2, Charlie’s body was found in the water.
Det Inspector Gareth Davis said CCTV showed Charlie leaving the Zombie Shack at around 1.20am before heading along Oxford Road.
Cameras picked him up heading back along Oxford Road again at around 4.43am.
He was then seen walking ‘unsteadily,’ in the snow before moving out of sight.
A combination of Snapchat and a phone call place him as being alive at around 6am and some time after that he fell into the canal – although there is no CCTV to tell exactly “where, when or how” he fell into the water, Coroner Nigel Meadows said.
Det Insp Davis confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. David Bladacchino, from the Canal and River Trust, said the Manchester Water Safety Partnership had commissioned an independent report.
Adrian Brocklehurst, lead health and safety officer at Manchester City Council, also confirmed they were committed to acting on the report’s recommendations.
Dr Al-Haba, pathologist at Manchester Royal Infirmary, said Charlie had died from drowning, exacerbated by cold shock, hypothermia and alcohol intoxication.
He said Charlie would likely have suffered a “cold shock” on entering the water and would only have survived a “matter of minutes” before suffering cardiac arrest.
Coroner Nigel Meadows said Charlie’s death had been accidental after consuming a “not insignificant” amount of alcohol.
He added: “I’m sure many of us in this court room have done things which might be described as foolish, but they have not ended up in the consequences here.”
I’m sure many of us in this court room have done things that might be described as foolish, but they have not ended up in the consequences here Coroner Nigel Meadows