Father criticises university over son’s initiation death

THE father of a student who died during a “drink-fuelled” initiation yesterday attacked the university for failing to stamp out such behaviour.

Although initiations were banned, Ed Farmer took part in a Newcastle University Agricultural Society event in which participants drank vodka from a pig’s head, bobbed for apples in a bucket of urine and had their heads shaved, an inquest heard.

Recording a narrative verdict, coroner Karen Dilks yesterday said the 20-year-old died as a result of the “toxic effects” of excessive drinking and a lack of awareness of the risks.

Speaking outside the inquest at Newcastle Civic Centre, Mr Farmer’s father, Jeremy, said the family had been left “utterly underwhelmed and frustrated by the apparent inactivity of Newcastle University and its student union to get to the heart of the problem of student initiations”.

Mr Farmer was found collapsed and unresponsive in the early hours of Dec 13 2016 at the home of James Carr, the society’s chairman at the time. He was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, where he died at around 5.30am.

The inquest heard how excess alcohol had caused Mr Farmer, of Leicester, to suffer a cardiac arrest, causing brain damage and death.

Dr John Hogan, the registrar for Newcastle University, said that Mr Farmer’s death was a “great tragedy”.

He said: “Having listened to the evidence, we will be reflecting carefully on all that we have learnt at the inquest and looking at whether there are areas where we can improve on what we do.”