| Abuse deaths family to sue police The family of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her disabled daughter after suffering abuse from local youths, is to sue police. bbc.co.uk |
More lives could have been lost in Cumbria floods bridge collapse, inquest told Inquest into death of PC Bill Barker, who died when structure collapsed beneath him, hears that passers-by helped direct traffic away from sceneAn inquest into the death of a police officer who was killed when a bridge collapsed during the Cumbria floods last year was told today more lives could have been lost had passers-by not intervened.The hearing was told PC Bill Barker had been directing traffic off the Northside bridge in Workington when it gave way beneath him early on 20 November.The 44-year-old fell 20ft into the swollen river Derwent and was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head. He drowned, and his body was carried eight miles downstream and found on a beach in Allonby the following day.David Hoare, a Stagecoach bus inspector, said he and his driver, Kevin Sheehan, had been checking that routes were clear. As he approached the bridge, he saw lights in the middle."I looked at the bridge in front of the stationary vehicle and I could see part of the bridgework was missing," he told the inquest at Cleator Moor civic hall.He said he saw three vehicles approaching and walked towards them to stop them crossing the bridge, telling the inquest he saw "a crescent-shaped hole in the road on the bridge" and felt "a tremble and a kind of rippling effect".When he was about 10 yards away, the bridge collapsed, shortly after 5am.He said: "I feel that anyone would have acted in the same way, but without our actions there could have been further casualties as vehicles could have fallen into the river. I feel lucky I was not killed."CCTV footage from the onboard bus camera showed he was just a couple of steps away as the road disappeared from view.Sheehan said: "Had David Hoare and I not acted so quickly, more lives would have been lost. This realisation has caused real shock, and I was relieved to have been able to help as much as we did."Brendan Pickering, who had been walking his dog, was nine metres away from the collapse after having earlier turned a lorry and car back from the road.He said he had noticed a "bite-sized chunk" missing from the bridge. "I waved my arms to stop a silver car," he said. "The driver thought the hole was a puddle."Chief Inspector Kevin Greenhow, of Cumbria police, said preparations had been put in place to respond to a potential emergency because of the weather.He said there were early reports that some footbridges would need to be closed but added that to his knowledge, the force's command structure had not been told of any concerns about major road bridges.After the incident, Cumbria county council said the Northside bridge, which carried road traffic between the south and north side of Workington, had been inspected in July 2008 and found to be structurally sound.Barker's death came as the downpours devastated large parts of the county, with bridges destroyed, roads closed and hundreds of people forced to flee from their homes to higher ground.The downpour produced the highest level of rainfall measured in England since records began, forecasters said, with 314mm – more than 1ft – of rain falling in 24 hours.More than 1,300 homes were affected by the flooding, with shops, businesses and farmland also swamped.A postmortem examination concluded that the police constable had died from a combination of blunt head trauma and drowning.In a statement, consultant pathologist Dr Alison Armour said Barker had suffered a deep laceration to the back of his head and a fractured skull.She said it was probable that his head had hit a rock, causing almost immediate unconsciousness before he drowned.Barker had served with the Cumbria force for 25 years on traffic duty and as a family liaison officer, helping people who had lost loved ones in road accidents.He had four children – Simon, 16, Melissa, 15, 13-year-old Daniel and seven-year-old Emma – and died on the day before his 45th birthday.The hearing continues.WeatherFloodingHelen Carterguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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