Thursday 19 July 2012

Inquest In To Window Cleaner Ladder Fall Continues


Window cleaner fell to his death: A window cleaner fell to his death while cleaning a first floor window, an inquest heard yesterday. Daniel Scott Alfred Lobb, aged 43 of Atherton, died while working up a ladder at a house in Eccles on January 23, Bolton Coroner’s Court heard. Mr Lobb’s long-term partner, Julie Grime, told an inquest jury that Mr Lobb had “the shakes” on the morning of his death, but he still went to work on his own as usual. Mr Lobb was cleaning the windows at the terraced house belonging to Pauline and Derek Gibbons in Boardman Street when he fell.

Mrs Gibbons said: “I was concerned that he shouldn’t be climbing the ladders. I said I knew it was cold but they were not normal shakes.” Mrs Gibbons’ next door neighbour, Fiona Hughes, also said Mr Lobb looked pale and shaky. Mrs Hughes, a nurse, was in her home when she heard a “thud” between 11.45am and noon. When she looked out of her front window she saw Mr Lobb lying face down at the bottom of the ladder in her neighbour’s front garden. Mrs Hughes and Mrs Gibbon called 999 but Mr Lobb died in Salford Royal Hospital later that day.

The court heard that it was possible Mr Lobb had propped the aluminium ladder against the plastic guttering of the property and put his foot on the window ledge to reach the corner of the window. The ladder was still standing when the window cleaner was found on the concrete slabs beneath the window, and one of the paving stones was broken Pathologist Dr Desai ruled out the influence of alcohol or drugs as the cause of death and said Mr Lobb had suffered with a ruptured spleen and damaged kidney on his left side. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances. The inquest continues.

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