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WWII hero ‘could have been saved’ by nightclub handrail
Tragic veteran, 85, fell down steps outside listed building after attending party
THE family of a Second World War veteran who died after falling down a flight of stairs outside a West End nightclub have called on health and safety chiefs to launch a review into the way listed buildings are regulated.
CCTV footage shows Michael Goldhill, 85, slip on the steps of Café De Paris in Piccadilly – falling backwards on to his wife and tumbling down 20 steps to his death.
In a cruel irony, Mrs Goldhill had warned her husband to be careful in his ascent minutes before the tragedy, an inquest at Westminster Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday.
Mr Goldhill bled to death before paramedics could get him to the special head injuries unit at King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill.
Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said that Mr Goldhill might still be alive if there had been a handrail in place, instead of the wood panelling he tried to grab when the accident happened in April.
Under current legislation listed buildings such as the Café De Paris are exempt from health and safety regulations that apply to new buildings. The stairs were deemed fit and said to have been in “a good state of repair” after a previous visit from the council’s environmental health team.
At the hearing the son and daughter of the former tank commander questioned both the venue’s manager and Westminster Council environmental health official Ayesha Javed as to why there was no handrail to help elderly customers climb the steep stairs. His son said there was “insuffcient” provision for elderly people at the nightclub, fearing a similar accident at other historic buildings.
Mr Goldhill, who lived in Marylebone with his wife Pamela, was a former Oxford graduate and successful businessman who had three children and five grandchildren. He had been attending a private party at the venue following a film premiere earlier in the evening.
Recording a verdict of accidental death, Dr Radcliffe said: “I can’t say for certain whether this unfortunate accident could have been prevented if there was a handrail in place, but there is a likelihood that if there was one, Mr Goldhill would have been able to grab it. It is a very tragic end for a capable man who had led a very healthy and lively life.”
Since the incident, management at the venue have agreed to install handrails on both sides of the stairs.
Manager Keith Moore said: “The issue of a handrail had never been raised before the incident but now we are seeking planning permission to get one put up.”
The council has also agreed to look at the way it enforces regulations on listed buildings, said Ms Javed. |
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