Man suffers fatal fall while tying flags to lampposts

A man in his 60s suffered fatal head injuries after he fell from a ladder while tying a Union flag to a lamp post, an inquest has heard.

Paul John Lumber, 61, a married painter and decorator from Bristol, had been drinking alcohol while at a football match on 22 November. After arriving home at 7.30pm, he took his ladder from his van and went out to put flags on lamp posts near his home in Duckmoor Road, Avon Coroner's Court heard.

Neighbours called emergency services after hearing a loud bang and finding Mr Lumber on the ground, with his ladder nearby. He was taken to Southmead Hospital, where he had surgery, but his condition deteriorated, and he died on 6 December.

Dr Simon Fox KC, assistant coroner for Avon, reached a conclusion of accidental death following a short hearing on Thursday. He said Mr Lumber "fell from a ladder while tying a Union Jack flag to a lamp post at night after consuming alcohol".

A well-known fan of Bristol City, Mr Lumber had written two books based on his experiences, titled It All Kicked Off In Bristol, which explored football hooliganism. Dr Richard Moon, who works in the neurosurgery department at Southmead Hospital, said Mr Lumber was reported to have fallen from a ladder on 22 November.

A CT scan showed extensive head injuries, including a skull fracture, and, despite having two operations, he later died. His cause of death was recorded as traumatic brain injury and a fall.

Coroner's officer Andrew Eastwood said in a statement he had spoken to Mr Lumber's wife Michelle, who told him her husband had "been to watch Bristol City play football and had consumed several alcoholic drinks". After returning home, he took the key to his van - where he kept his work ladder - and went out again.

Mrs Lumber later heard sirens across the road and went out to find her husband being treated by paramedics, with his ladder nearby and a Union flag on a lamp post. Neighbours had called 999 after hearing a loud bang and discovering Mr Lumber on the ground with a head injury.

He had left his home "to put up flags around the neighbourhood.