An 'adventurous spirit' climbed a tree without shoes at a country park before falling to his death, an inquest heard. Grandfather Stephen Hitchen had been warned against continuing up the tree in Haigh Hall Country Park, in Wigan, by his two nephews.
The 52-year-old visited the park with the intention of climbing a tree - an activity he enjoyed - Bolton Coroners' Court heard on Wednesday (February 8).
While his nephews spoke to two men on bikes, they heard a 'crackling' noise and turned around to see the dad-of-five falling to the ground.
"He wanted to climb a tree," said Andrew Wooton, Mr Hitchen's nephew. "He was basically an an adventurer. For was quite healthy for his age. He just liked climbing trees."
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The court heard Mr Hitchen, who was born in Leigh and lived in Wigan, had first gone to Wigan Park to meet his partner and take his children out. He then went with his nephews, Andrew and Anthony Wooton, to a pub near Haigh Hall before entering the park.
Mr Wooton told the inquest his uncle chose the tree he wanted to climb. A branch had fallen from another tree days earlier, giving a platform for Mr Hitchen to climb onto the other tree, the court heard.
"He just climbed onto it," Mr Wooton said. "There were barriers there [by the fallen tree] but you could just walk in between them."
Mr Wooton described how his uncle had lent his shoes to him for climbing because he was wearing new trainers and didn't want to 'wreck' them when climbing a different tree, so Mr Hitchen climbed the tree wearing his socks. His nephew said he tried throwing the shoes back up to Mr Hitchen, but he could not catch them so continued climbing the tree without them.
"He sat down for a bit at first," Mr Wooton said. "We had a chat, and then he said 'I'm going to go a bit further', so he went."
He added: "Eventually I said 'that's enough now it's a bit high... you're better off turning round'. But if he had something on his mind you could not really stop him, basically, that's the type of person he was."
Mr Wooton told the court that as his uncle continued up the tree, two men on bikes stopped and asked what they were doing. As he spoke to the pair, Mr Wooton heard Mr Hitchen fall.
"I saw him hit the floor," he said. "I heard the branches crackling and I turned round, then he hit the floor."
Mr Hitchen's nephews tried CPR and called for an ambulance, but he was beyond resuscitation, the inquest heard. A toxicology report heard how Mr Hitchen had cannabis and a high level of alcohol in his system - at 220mg, compared to the drink drive limit of 80mg.
Mr Wooton told the court his uncle had taken cannabis around an hour and had 'a bit of a drink' before visiting the park, but insisted he did not seem drunk. "He was walking straight and that," he said.
"If he was that drunk he would not have been able to get up the tree. It didn't seem like he was staggering or anything like that."
Jean Hitchen, Mr Hitchen's mum, told the inquest she first knew something was wrong when her daughter Margaret had been unable to get hold Anthony and Andrew Wooton. Mrs Hitchen said her daughter's call eventually connected and 'all she could hear was screaming'.
She told the court how she was then informed that Mr Hitchen had died in a phone call from Greater Manchester Police. "The policeman spoke to me on the phone," said Mrs Hitchen.
"He said 'there's been an accident and Stephen was dead'."
Stephen Teasdale, assistant coroner for Manchester West, told Mrs Hitchen: "I think normally the police would have attended in person, but events have overtaken them I suspect."
Pathologist Naveen Sharma gave the cause of Mr Hitchen's death as 'multiple injuries', having found evidence of rib fractures, internal bleeding and damage to organs. Recording a conclusion of 'misadventure', coroner Mr Teasdale said: "Stephen Hitchen was of an adventurous spirit.
"He had acted in an adventurous way in the past. He had gone to the particular location with the intention of climbing a tree. He selects this particular tree.
"There are a number of points when he's climbing the tree that he makes decisions to continue. Unfortunately, those decisions may have been affected by drink, may have been affected by cannabis. He climbs further up the tree.
"From the information that I have I would agree that he falls and you [Mr Hitchen's nephews] hear the breaking of branches as he's coming down. In that he sustains multiple injuries - injuries on his way down and as he falls to the floor."
Following the inquest, Mr Hitchen's brother Paul Hitchen told the Manchester Evening News: "He was always with our Anthony and Andrew.
"He did like a drink, but it was just like anybody. He had a social drink, a glass of wine. For him to have a few drinks it would not affect him like it would me. He was someone who could take his beer. But he was a fit lad. He was very, very fit.
"He just loved climbing. He had no sense of any danger. He was like a monkey. He never grew out of it."
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