Father of bridegroom found dead in river on stag party trip
Polish police in death probe as friends pay tribute to bank worker
A BANK worker has died while celebrating his son’s stag weekend in Poland.
The body of William Higgins, of Mauchline, Ayrshire, was recovered from a river in the city of Wroclaw on Saturday morning.
It is understood Mr Higgins had travelled to the city with his son Mark and a group of friends, arriving on Friday.
The 54-year-old was spotted by passers-by floating in the River Oder. Local police have launched an investigation into his death. Preliminary inquiries have ruled out robbery because Mr Higgins was still carrying his passport and ID when he was recovered.
Foreign and Commonwealth officials are liaising between the family and authorities at the scene, while Mr Higgins’ wife Jane, 52, is being comforted by friends at home.
Son Mark, 25, is due to be married to Jennifer Hope,from Drongan, Ayrshire, next month.
She is director of a property firm that builds energy-efficient homes for first-time buyers – The Wee House Company.
Her parents, Ian and Anne, own Hope Homes, which until last year had worked with Prince Charles to develop the Ayrshire eco-village Knockroon.
Friends of the bank worker have spoken about their shock at his sudden death.
One of them told the Mail on Sunday: “I spoke to him a day ago. I’m devastated, and so is his wife.
“Before he left we had been joking with him, telling him not to hit the bookies too hard in Poland.
“We told him he was going there with a young crew and that he shouldn’t get involved. He just laughed like he always did. We can’t believe he’s gone.”
He added: “As for the wedding, we’ve no idea what’s going to happen. It’s obviously the last thing on anyone’s mind now.”
Another friend in Mr Higgins’ home town said he was devastated to hear of the death. He said they had met when their sons played football together, and that he has been a “kind, funny man who was devoted to his family.”
He added: “Everybody liked him. This is just heart-breaking.”
The city of Wroclaw, this year’s European City of Culture, has become popular with stag parties from the UK, and has overtaken Krakow as Poland’s party capital.
Direct flights are available from Glasgow. The city has numerous bridges and waterways as it straddles the River Oder.
Wroclaw became part of Poland
right in 1945, as a result of the border changes after the Second World War. The population of Wroclaw in 2014 was 634,000, making it the fourth-largest city in Poland.
The city was last year found to be one of the cheapest places in Europe to hold a stag weekend. Researchers looked into the cost of attending a stag party in 23 European cities, and found the average per-head cost of two days and two nights partying there to be just £329.48 per person.
A spokesman for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office said: “We are providing support to the family and friends of a British man following his death in Wroclaw. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.”