Man suing for £1m after falling into pit at promenade denies being drunk

A teenager has denied being drunk when he fell into a 15-foot pit during his school prom at a stately home.

Thomas Atkins is suing the owners of Pendley Manor Hotel for more than £1 million after suffering brain damage in the fall down a basement lightwell.

He had just turned 18 and was celebrating the end of sixth form with around 100 other pupils when he toppled in while talking to his girlfriend on the phone.

Mr Atkins, of Tring, Hertfordshire, said he fell because the wall guarding the pit was too low, and denied that he had been binge-drinking all day.

He told the High Court: ‘We were told that if you were too drunk you would be sent home. We were all on good behaviour.’ 

Thomas Atkins denies being drunk when he fell down a 15ft pit during his school prom at a stately house hotel

Mr Atkins says he was freely chatting with his teachers, who mingled with students to make sure no one was drunk during the party

Mr Atkins, now 23, suffered a serious head injury in the fall, leaving him with lasting brain damage.

Despite admitting the wall surrounding the lightwell was lower than the usual British standards, the hotel’s owners deny liability for the fall and suggest Mr Atkins’ drinking was the real cause.

Charles Bagot KC, for the hotel, said Mr Atkins had been drinking since lunch time, first ‘a couple of ciders and a couple of beers’ at a friend’s house, then at a prosecco reception before the prom, then more drinks at the party itself.

Mr Bagot said: ‘When he was found in the lightwell in the early hours of the following morning and attended to, they assessed him as being intoxicated, having consumed a large amount of alcohol.’ 

The barrister asked Mr Atkins: ‘Can you recall any of your teachers speaking to you about your level of drinking or behaviour?’

‘No,’ he replied, adding ‘absolutely not’ when asked if there was any reason someone might have pushed him into the lightwell.

He said he was freely chatting with his teachers, who the court heard mingled with students to make sure no one was drunk.

He said he had experience with alcohol, drinking at weekends, but said he had never fallen asleep or lost consciousness.

Judge Master Amanda Stevens heard that Mr Atkins and around 100 other students had attended the prom at the Grade-II listed Victorian hotel, which is set in 35 acres of parkland, in June 2019.

The Grade-II listed Pendley Manor Hotel admits the wall surrounding the lightwell was lower than usual British standards, but denies responsibility for Mr Atkins’ fall

The hotel’s owners Craydawn Pendley Manor Ltd say Mr Atkins was drunk at the time of his accident as he had been drinking since lunch time

The event was held in a first-floor ballroom, but giving evidence, Mr Atkins said he had on several occasions gone outside to sit on a wall where he could make phone calls in peace.

He was reported missing late in the evening and his mother went to the hotel to help look for him, with one searcher finding him at the bottom of the lightwell.

According to papers lodged as part of his case, Mr Atkins’ lawyers describe the lightwell as 15 to 20 feet in depth, with a wall of only three feet around it.

They say it is ‘likely, on the balance of probabilities, that he sat on the low wall surrounding the uncovered basement lightwell, overbalanced and fell into the basement, suffering serious injury, loss and damage. Alternatively, he stood near and fell over the low wall into the basement’.

His lawyers say the accident resulted in him suffering a brain injury, which required a craniotomy, a type of operation in which part of the skull is removed to access the brain.

He was left with ongoing neurological problems, including mood and memory disturbance, headaches, hearing loss and balance issues, they say.

For Mr Atkins in court, barrister Chris Barnes KC said the hotel had allowed there to be a ‘significant unguarded drop’ at a venue where ‘visitors were invited to drink and party’.

‘It is admitted that the wall fell some 10 to 20cm lower than the standard recommended or mandated by the British standards,’ he told the judge.

‘And it is admitted it was works which the hotel carried out that caused that to be the case.

‘Notwithstanding the high number of visitors of all ages, it is admitted by the defendant that there were no risk assessments at all concerning the outside area of the hotel and the lightwell.’

Since the accident occurred, a metal grille has been installed to protect the drop into the lightwell, he said.

For the hotel’s owner, Craydawn Pendley Manor Ltd, Mr Bagot said the drop had been ‘pretty obvious’ and suggested that Mr Atkins was at fault for his fall.

The judge is being asked to decide whether the hotel is liable to pay compensation for Mr Atkins’ injuries, with the issue of the amount due in damages to be decided at a later date if necessary.

Lawyers previously estimated that the value of the claim would be more than £1million if he is successful.

The trial continues.