Boater slipped into canal and drowned

Published: Friday, 26 November 2010

A VERDICT of accidental death was brought on boater Andrew Fairholme, whose body was discovered in the Trent & Mersey Canal at Hassall Green on 'Heartbreak Hill'.

Andrew and his wife Jennifer had moored by Lock 57 (pictured) at Hassall Green, when he went outside for a cigarette, but did not return, and his body was found the following morning by an underwater search team, Alan Tilbury tells us.

Been drinking

Together with friends they had had an evening meal and been drinking when he went outside at around 10.30 on the 5th July the inquest was told.

His wife called the police when she could not see him anywhere near the boat, with a search then being launched.

Slipped

The most likely explanation, Sergeant Penny Jones, from Cheshire Police, stated was that he slipped while walking along the towpath, adding:

"There was certainly an admission that he had had alcohol, and I think that having gone either down the steps or the steep pathway by the bridge nearby, where there is very little light, he must have lost his way, tripped and fallen into the canal."

Fell into water

Just after 10.30 a dog could be heard barking,  that could have been from hearing the man fall into the water.

Suspicious circumstances and third-party involvement were ruled out, with a post-mortem examination report showing Andrew Fairholme died from drowning and noted a 'significant' alcohol intake, with a blood alcohol reading of 189mg per decilitre, compared with the drink-driving limit of 80mg.