Shop worker died after 3ft plunge down stairs

Diane Claughton, 24, suffered massive head injuries as she fell carrying a cup of tea at the Carphone Warehouse in Briggate in Leeds city centre, an inquest heard.

A colleague said Miss Claughton "somersaulted" forward down just four stairs and hit her head on the bottom metal stair tread.

Shop staff rushed to her aid and after suffering a seizure she was able to stand up for paramedics before being rushed to Leeds General Infirmary, where she underwent emergency surgery to reduce the swelling in her brain.

But a few hours later her family, from Cottingley, Leeds, agreed that her life support machine should be switched off.

An inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death after hearing that the shop's stairs were not damaged or poorly designed.

The inquest heard the accident happened on the afternoon of September 16 last year.

Miss Claughton had been upstairs to make herself a drink and was carrying it down when she fell.

She had negotiated 16 steps leading to a small landing area, when she suddenly lost her footing.

Store assistant manager Christopher Lath said: "She was making and drinking a lot of tea. It was a bit of a joke in the shop. She would make us all tea and would often come down carrying four cups.

"I saw... she was holding a cup of tea in her left hand and her other hand was over the banister.

"She stumbled forwards and then tried to protect herself from falling. She somersaulted and hit her head on the last step. There was an almighty crack."

He said he had seen other people slip on the stairs, adding: "Since I've worked at the store I must have seen two people a day stumble on the stairs. About six to nine months ago, a female fell down all the stairs but she was OK. I have fallen myself."

An investigation by a Leeds Council officer revealed nothing untoward with the stairs.

Health and safety officer John Tootle confirmed that the steps met building regulations and tests carried out to establish their "slip factor" deemed them low risk.

A pathologist at St James's Hospital who carried out the post mortem examination, Aruna Chakrabarty, said Miss Claughton had no underlying health conditions.

Coroner David Hinchliffe concluded that her death was a tragic accident.

He added: "There is nothing to suggest from health and safety that there was anything wrong with the stairs.

"I don't believe that she became unwell... and there is no suggestion she was wearing inappropriate footwear.

"It might be that she miscalculated the drop, lost her footing or caught her heel on the stairs. And because she was carrying something, she might not have been able to recover her balance."

Speaking shortly after Miss Claughton died, her boyfriend of five months, Jake Bickerstaff, 20, spoke of the "angel" he was supposed to meet that tragic day and revealed how they had planned their lives together.

The heartbroken Carphone Warehouse employee said: "I had the day off, and I was going to meet her for lunch. She wanted to meet me earlier on, but I wanted to get my hair cut.

"I saw the ambulance on my way to getting my appointment and just thought 'someone's fallen over', but I didn't realise it was my Diane.

"I keep thinking, if I hadn't got my hair cut, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

"I'm so shocked. We were planning our lives together, I never thought this could happen to someone I loved so much."