A bricklayer, who fell 80ft to his death from a bridge, may have been blown off by high winds as he shimmied around railings, an inquest heard.
Rhys Cafferty, 25, had been drinking at a St Patrick’s Day celebration and had just won an Irish dancing competition, before he was seen loitering near the edge of Silver Jubilee bridge in Runcorn, Cheshire.
Police were called to the scene by a passing motorist amid fears Mr Cafferty was about to jump – but as officers went to speak to him, it is thought he was blown over the side and he drowned in the River Mersey below. His body was found two weeks later.
Rhys Cafferty, 25, had been drinking at a St Patrick’s Day celebration and had just won an Irish dancing competition, before he was seen loitering near the edge of Silver Jubilee bridge in Runcorn, Cheshire
Police were called to the scene by a passing motorist amid fears Mr Cafferty was about to jump – but as officers went to speak to him, it is thought he was blown over the side and he drowned in the River Mersey below
The Warrington hearing was told Mr Cafferty, a bricklayer from Widnes described as ‘caring fun-loving and well-liked lad’ played football for his local amateur team Halebank FC and had no history of depression.
The tragedy occurred in March after he had been see Widnes Vikings rugby league club take on Hull before heading to a pub with friends for St Patrick’s Day.
Mr Cafferty was said to be ‘happy and dancing’ in the pub, and left around 2.30am to help walk some girls home. At 3am he was seen to be ‘laughing and joking and happy’ the group went their separate ways.
But at 4am, driver Stephen Burke, who was on his way home from work, said he spotted Mr Cafferty sitting with his legs hanging down from the bridge – also known as the Runcorn-Widnes bridge – and looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was looking at him.
Mr Burke said: ‘The police arrived very quickly, and I went and parked underneath the bridge so I could still see him, and could see the yellow vests of the officers behind him. The weather was horrendous. There was lighting on the bridge and I saw the man stand up on top of the railings.
‘He was just stood up there for a while, I thought he was coming back down and crossing back across to the other side. He sat down again, and then I saw him drop down and shimmy over the railings.
‘He was holding the railings and he was hanging there holding on and then he just dropped. I couldn’t tell if it was intentional. I think it is possible that he did just slip because it was blowing a gale and it was very very wet.’
Driver Stephen Burke, who was on his way home from work, said he spotted Mr Cafferty sitting with his legs hanging down from the bridge
PC Lee Hillyard told the inquest that the police had received a call of a male on the bridge at 4.40am on March 18.
He said: ‘I tried to talk to him and he kept saying that he didn’t want to land on the rocks below. I told him that we would be able to sort any problems he had out, we could go and have a brew and talk everything through with him.
‘I also told him that I cared about him, so he knew that there was someone that did. When he moved and stood up I thought that he was going to come back over, and I had hold of his hand. I told him to come back over the railings – but he turned round and continued moving.
‘He was on a ledge below the bridge at this point and I had to let go of him because my arm was being bent backwards. He moved off from the bridge and let go and then I heard a splash.
‘My opinion is that it was a deliberate movement because if it was an accident he could have just gone straight downwards, but he moved off from the bridge. The last think he said was that he didn’t want to land on the rocks, and ‘its too late now’.
His body was found on March 30 in the nearby Manchester Ship Canal in eight metres of water. Tests showed he had 82 microgrammes of of alcohol per 100 milliltres in his blood. The legal limit for driving is 80mg. He also had recreational levels of cocaine in his system.
Mr Cafferty’s father, Michael Glynn told the inquest: ‘He was the top goalscorer for the team he played for, and he was making plans for the future.
‘There was a weekend in Newcastle planned, and he was also looking into getting a loan of £5000 to get his ears pinned back. He had booked his driving test and everything was going well. He had even ironed his clothes for the next day and was getting everything ready for it.
‘Before he went to the rugby he was clapping and shouting ‘Widnes away, Widnes away’. I last saw him at 4pm and didn’t hear from him after that. I didn’t believe the police when they came to see me, I thought he would just be with some girl and would show up again.
‘He was just a normal happy lad. There wasn’t anything that could have upset him. I asked the police if he said anything about his mum but they weren’t sure. In the days before he was just normal. He was a good honest lad.
‘If the weather had been different that day, and the helicopters could have gone to get him then it might not have ended like that in the end. None of it makes any sense to me.’
Mr Cafferty’s father, Michael Glynn told the inquest: ‘He was the top goalscorer for the team he played for, and he was making plans for the future’
Recording an open conclusion, coroner Alan Moore said: ‘Rhys was seen laughing and joking and there was no indication that there was anything wrong. It is not possible for us to know whether Rhys jumped or slipped. I have heard evidence that the weather was not perfect, it was dark and early in the morning.
‘The weather conditions I have heard were terrible. The wind was distorting speech, and it wasn’t clear what was being said or what was being heard.
‘Police could not hear everything Rhys was saying and a lot of the conversation was lost.
‘It was wet and I have heard evidence that the wind was blowing while he was on the bridge, and it is possible that he might have been blown in some way which could have caused him to fall off. We have head the rain was coming down heavily and it could have possibly been very easy for someone to slip.
‘I cannot be satisfied that Rhys took his own life, or that it was indeed probably an accident or probably due to the weather.’