Death-slide jump killed pensioner

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/devon/7155516.stm

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A daredevil pensioner from Devon died after attempting a flying fox jump on a zipwire death slide, an inquest in Honiton has been told.

Edward Farrelly-Smith, 83, suffered head injuries and a heart attack after falling 15ft (4.5m) from the wire in a neighbour's garden tree house.

The inquest heard he lost his grip on the handle and fell from a tree house in Shute, near Colyton, in April.

Coroner Dr Elizabeth Earland recorded a verdict of accidental death.

The pensioner, who was born in the US, regularly climbed into the tree house when he visited his neighbour and used the death slide to get back to earth.

'Dropping body'

The inquest heard he lost his grip on the handle and fell to his death shortly after pushing off from the tree house.

On the day of the accident, the retired banker was in woodland behind his neighbour's home with his daughter Margaret Farrelly, who was on holiday from her home in Michigan.

Ms Farrelly said in a statement her father had taken her and another friend to the tree house and she had made the jump first.

She said: "He decided he wanted a go and told me he had done it many times before.

"My father took hold of the bar before launching himself and dropping his body out on to the line.

"Suddenly he fell at which point he hit the ground. He hit his back and I told him not to move as he was having difficulty breathing"

The inquest heard neighbour David Cummings, who built the tree house and slide in 2001, had not given Mr Farrelly-Smith permission to use it and did not know he was in the habit of doing so.

Greater Devon coroner Dr Elizabeth Earland recorded a verdict of accidental death after hearing how Mr Farrelly-Smith suffered cardiac arrest and died shortly after arriving at hospital.