Carpenter's second fall proved fatal

8:40am Friday 29th August 2008

After helping retired carpenter Alec Kenneth Brace (aged 66) to his feet after he fell in Laws Street, Pembroke Dock, a concerned passer-by saw him fall again, hitting the back of his head on the road.

The fall proved fatal, Pembrokeshire Coroner Michael Howells said at an inquest yesterday(Thursday) when he recorded a verdict that Mr Brace of Oak Cottage, Commons Road, Pembroke, died of a head injury as a result of a fall while under the influence of alcohol.

Coroner's Officer Jeremy Davies said that Mr Dave Bennett saw Mr Brace collapsed on some rubbish bags at about 9.45pm on Saturday March 29th and he and a friend helped him to his feet. He smelled strongly of alcohol and was unsteady, and, after his second fall was unconscious and unresponsive.

He died in Withybush Hospital on April 25th after treatment in Morriston Hospital and a post mortem revealed a fractured skull and brain damage. A contributory factor was a pulmonary thromboembolism from deep vein thrombosis, said the pathologist.