Stoney Cove Inquests
Frank
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------5A1C3625120C
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>From last week's Daily Telegraph...
--------------5A1C3625120C
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii; name="untitled.htm"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline; filename="untitled.htm"
Content-Base: "file:///C|/Bin/untitled.htm"
<BASE HREF="file:///C|/Bin/untitled.htm">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Stoney Cove Deaths</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgcolor="#ffffff">
<BASEfont face="verdana,arial,hevetica" SIZE=3>
<font face="verdana,arial,hevetica" SIZE=5>
<B>Divers drowned after basic safety mistakes<BR>
</B><font face="verdana,arial,hevetica" SIZE=1>
BY <font face="verdana,arial,hevetica" SIZE=1>
<B>STEPHEN FARRELL<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
</B>
<P ALIGN=JUSTIFY>
<font face="verdana,arial,hevetica" SIZE=2>
TWO inexperienced scuba divers panicked and drowned at Britain's largest inland diving centre after making a series of basic safety mistakes, a coroner was told yesterday. Glyn Beeson, 48, and Patrick Scanlon, 37, died in separate incidents at Stoney Cove Inland Diving Centre near Hinckley, Leicestershire, while swimming with friends, their inquests were told.</P>
<P ALIGN=JUSTIFY>
Mr Beeson, from Cannock, Staffordshire, suddenly separated from his two companions while coming up from 20 metres on September 3 and rushed to the surface, shouting and waving.</P>
<P ALIGN=JUSTIFY>
George Atkins, a witness, told his inquest: "He was sitting there in a bath of bubbles and he seemed to be blown up like the Michelin Man. He was there for about 10 or 15 seconds then went back under."</P>
<P ALIGN=JUSTIFY>
Rescuers found the father of two unconscious on the bottom of the former granite quarry. He died the next day in hospital.</P>
<P ALIGN=JUSTIFY>
Mr Scanlon, from Leicester, suddenly ran out of air while ascending from 18 metres on October 4. His diving companion Adrian Stubbs told how he shot up "far too fast" then sank to the bottom, where he was found face-up.</P>
<P ALIGN=JUSTIFY>
James Symington, the Leicester Coroner, recorded verdicts of accidental death on both men after hearing that health and safety inspectors had cleared Stoney Cove of all responsibility. He was told that both victims carried out their training elsewhere at schools run by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI).</P>
<P ALIGN=JUSTIFY>
Inspector Stephen Hanson, a diving expert with Leicestershire police, criticised the association for awarding qualifications allowing novices to dive together unsupervised after just four sessions with instructors.</P>
<P ALIGN=JUSTIFY>
Although only qualified to dive to 18m Mr Beeson had descended to 20m and had planned no decompression stops to eliminate nitrogen from the blood. He said that Mr Beeson's waving and shouting would have emptied air from his suit and lungs, causing him to sink rapidly.</P>
<P ALIGN=JUSTIFY>
Inspector Hanson said Mr Scanlon, who was on his first unsupervised dive since qualifying on a PADI course in Malta, had failed to acclimatise to the cold fresh water quarry and had panicked when his cylinder ran out.</P>
<P ALIGN=JUSTIFY>
The coroner will hear an inquest today into a third death at Stoney Cove before deciding whether to make safety recommendations.</P>
</BODY>
</HTML>
--------------5A1C3625120C--
Chris Stenton
Frank wrote:
>
> >From last week's Daily Telegraph...
>
> Divers drowned after basic safety mistakes
>
> TWO inexperienced scuba divers panicked and drowned at Britain's
> largest inland diving centre after making a series of basic safety
> mistakes, a coroner was told yesterday. Glyn Beeson, 48, and Patrick
> Scanlon, 37, died in separate incidents at Stoney Cove Inland Diving
> Centre near Hinckley, Leicestershire, while swimming with friends,
> their inquests were told.
>
> two companions while coming up from 20 metres on September 3 and
> rushed to the surface, shouting and waving.
>
> bath of bubbles and he seemed to be blown up like the Michelin Man. He
> was there for about 10 or 15 seconds then went back under."
>
> former granite quarry. He died the next day in hospital.
>
> from 18 metres on October 4. His diving companion Adrian Stubbs told
> how he shot up "far too fast" then sank to the bottom, where he was
> found face-up.
>
> The coroner will hear an inquest today into a third death at Stoney
> Cove before deciding whether to make safety recommendations.
I read that 2 died during October, does this mean that there has been a
more
recent case at Stoney?
Chris
Frank
Chris Stenton wrote:
>
> Frank wrote:
> >
> > >From last week's Daily Telegraph...
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------
> > Divers drowned after basic safety mistakes
> >
> more
> recent case at Stoney?
No, these are the results of the inquest on those two deaths. There was,
I understand, a third death which still has to be decided upon.
I was having a chat with a buddy today and realised that I have never
been asked for my PADI card when filling tanks at Stoney. Only when
hiring equipment do they request the cards.
Any views on this, anybody?
(PS not a pop at Stoney, I love the place and wish I had a Stoney nearer
home).
--
Frank Wognum
**********************************************************
> AirFlow Design: WWW Graphic & Design Studios <
> http://www.airflow.demon.co.uk/ <
> Tel: +44 (0)1245 352 908 Fax: +44 (0)1245 348 908 <
**********************************************************
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be
judged by the way its animals are treated"
> Gandhi
Keith Lawrence
Frank wrote in message <348C8A...@airflow.demon.co.uk>...
<snip>
>I was having a chat with a buddy today and realised that I have never
>been asked for my PADI card when filling tanks at Stoney. Only when
>hiring equipment do they request the cards.
>
>Any views on this, anybody?
>
>(PS not a pop at Stoney, I love the place and wish I had a Stoney nearer
>home).
Frank
I've *never* been asked for a c-card when presenting tanks for a fill, and
long may that remain the case! The only place that in the UK that has ever
asked me for any documentation is Bovi.
I must admit that I am against formal regulation of my hobby, all it tends
to do is inconvienience the majority in the mistaken belief that it protects
the idiotic minority. Education not legislation (either by statute or a body
of 'jobs worths') is the key and you cannot legislate or protect against
gross stupidity - the Darwin principle will win in the end!
No, I don't want to have to dig out my card when I've popped out of the
office at lunch time to get a fill for the weekend, or when I've lugged the
cylinder up the jetty to the fill station when I'm still in my dry suit!
When hiring equipment, fine - there may be a legal liability reason for
doing so, but the thought of the Saturday boy/girl doing the fills for the
weekend demanding my card or an army of 'c-card police' wandering the shore
at Chesil demanding my log book before I can get my fins wet...no way!!
Regards
Keith L
[Header is false, real address is kei...@perrydell.com]
Neil Smorthit
the Darwin principle will win in the end!
>No, I don't want to have to dig out my card when I've popped out of the
>office at lunch time to get a fill for the weekend, or when I've lugged the
>cylinder up the jetty to the fill station when I'm still in my dry suit!
>When hiring equipment, fine - there may be a legal liability reason for
>doing so, but the thought of the Saturday boy/girl doing the fills for the
>weekend demanding my card or an army of 'c-card police' wandering the shore
>at Chesil demanding my log book before I can get my fins wet...no way!!
It is not unreasonable for trainees to do some of the donkey work and
take cylinders to be filled from a reputable source. They may not yet
have any formal qualifications - does this preclude them from helping
??
Is there a legal requirement to hold a qualification ?? I don't think
so.
HOWEVER - there is NO substitution for training and education.
Qualifications don't prevent accidents - appropriate training,
experience and currency do.
David J. Hicks
I don't know of any dive centre that asks to see your qualifications
before filling air tanks. They generally do if you want Nitrox (and
there's a debate in itself!), or if you are diving with them on one of
their organised trips, but not if you just want air.
--
Dave Hicks
Manta Divers, BS-AC 0953
Frank
Keith Lawrence wrote:
>
> you cannot legislate or protect against
>
Actually, I agree, but I suppose it would take a little of the spotlight
off the poor sods who take the brunt of the media hype (the site
owners/managers) every time there's a fatality.
But then again, the local council don't check to see if I can swim
before they let me in the local pool, so why should Stoney check to see
if I'm qualified before they let me in to get wet? Not exactly a fair
anaolgy, I suppose, but... there you go.
Keith Lawrence
Frank wrote in message <348DF9...@airflow.demon.co.uk>...
>Keith Lawrence wrote:
>>
>> you cannot legislate or protect against
>> gross stupidity - the Darwin principle will win in the end!
>>
>Actually, I agree, but I suppose it would take a little of the spotlight
>off the poor sods who take the brunt of the media hype (the site
>owners/managers) every time there's a fatality.
>
...and there you have hit upon the reason why we may well end up with the
'c-card police' checking our every move. As with the vast majority of
bureaucracy and officialdom it is there to serve the purpose of the
administrators, not for the benefit of us poor buggers being administered!
And where were the training agencies when the latest media hype broke? I did
not see any real responses/letters etc., it is media hype that gets us bad
and restrictive legislation.