VITAL maintenance work on a "decaying" walkway was rescheduled 19 times and eventually cancelled before a Hampshire pensioner plunged through it to his death, an inquest heard.

Benjamin Withers, known as John, was on his mobility scooter when he fell 12ft after a wooden and glass panel gave way on the side of the walkway at Fareham Medical Centre.

He died as a result of sustaining severe head injuries in the fall.

Photographs of the scene show smashed glass and a wooden frame strewn across the ground next to the badly-damaged mobility scooter.

Shaken witnesses wept in front of the jury as they relived the tragic incident, which happened on September 20, 2012 at the medical centre owned by NHS Hampshire and let out to NHS Portsmouth.

Daily Echo:

Samantha Kain was outside when Mr Withers fell. She said: " I was screaming and two security guards came over and the next thing I knew a nurse had come out and started to work.

“He landed head first with the mobility scooter behind him.”

Health and Safety Executive inspector Michael Baxter completed a report revealing that maintenance work on the rotten wooden and glass panel was originally planned for May 27 but was rescheduled four times in November 2011, twice the following month, and a further twelve times in 2012 before being cancelled in June that year.

He said: “The glass was seven millimetres thick and was strengthened but it was found that the wooden frame was in a poor condition - the wood was very badly decayed and rotten.

"Decay in the lower section was so bad that all structural integrity of the wood had been lost. An annual inspection would have identified the extend of the decay of the wood.”

Daily Echo:

Mr Baxter told the jury that NHS Portsmouth would have been responsible for ensuring that competent contractors carried out maintenance work on the walkway.

The jury heard that Mr Withers, who was described as being in good health for an 82-year-old man, had attended a routine appointment for leg ulcer problems.

He then got back on his mobility scooter but smashed through the glass panel and fell to his death. Son Trevor saw Mr Withers about an hour before the incident and spoke warmly about his father. He said: “He was very well-liked and had a very large circle of friends, and he would help anybody who needed help, especially myself and my brother.

“His mind was sharp and he had a scooter for about five years, and had that model for about six months and was confident in driving it.

“The last time I saw him was that afternoon as he went into the surgery but I didn’t have a chance to talk to him.”

Daily Echo:

The inquest at Portsmouth Guildhall is being led by coroner Robert Stone and will continue today.

Mr Withers’ son Trevor described his father as a well-liked and helpful man, who had a very large circle of friends and enjoyed gardening as a pastime.