THE man who died after falling down the stairs in a Dorset pub has been described as a “loving husband, son, dad, uncle and stepdad”.

The full inquest into the death of Philip Brian Shaw, 47, from Bradford, began at Bournemouth Town Hall on Thursday.

The inquest, which is expected to last until Friday, heard how Mr Shaw, a site manager, had travelled to Bournemouth for the stag do of long-term friend Peter Simpson on the weekend of February 21, 2020.

Dorset Echo:

On the evening of Saturday, February 22, Mr Shaw and the stag group met at the Christopher Creeke Wetherspoons pub, in Holdenhurst Road, and stayed until closing time at around 1.15am.

An 11-person jury heard how Mr Shaw left the group to walk to the men’s toilets which are located downstairs.

Assistant coroner for Dorset, Richard Middleton, said: “At 1.26am he is located at the bottom of the stairs by staff. Mr Shaw is found to be in cardiac arrest and CPR is commenced.

“Mr Shaw was taken to Poole Hospital and arrived at 2.40am. A CT scan showed significant swelling to the brain.

“Treatment stopped at 4.15am and he died at 4.23am on February 23.”

CCTV footage shown in court shows Mr Shaw make his way across the bar and to the stairs.

There was a blind spot on the footage at the top of the stairs and he is next seen falling down. He was at the bottom of the stairs for approximately 10 minutes before team leader at the pub, Matthew Livingstone, found him.

DS Mark White, the officer in the case, told the inquest the stairs were no longer in use and Wetherspoons was seeking alternative access.

He said a report on the health and safety of the stairs was in the process of being produced after previous incidents of people falling but at the time of Mr Shaw’s fall had not been seen by pub staff.

A statement from Mr Shaw’s wife Lisa, read by Mr Middleton, said: “Phil was a family man. A loving husband, son, dad, uncle, stepdad.

“His main priority was to look after family and help in any way he could.

“He was full of life, it is not fair. “

“We had been in a relationship for ten years, married for four and a half.

“Phil was a very happy man full of life. He is not a clumsy drunk, I have never seen him fall while drunk.”

Mr Simpson told the inquest Mr Shaw could “handle his drink” and said he was in a “jovial mood”.

Mr Livingstone described the stag group as “one of the most pleasant we have had” and said their ‘don’t do drunk’ policy, where they don’t serve intoxicated people, did not apply to Mr Shaw.

Dr Julianne Stolte, pathologist at Holly Tree Lodge, carried out a post mortem after the incident. She found Mr Shaw had more than 200 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of blood and recorded the medical cause of death as multiple head injuries due to fall due to alcohol intoxication.

The inquest continues on Friday and will hear evidence from health and safety officials.