Window cleaner drowns in his own bucket

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Mark Fairhurst, 35, was found by a customer and, although paramedics were called, it was too late to save him.

He had a heart condition which is thought to have caused him to lose consciousness and slump head-first into the full bucket.

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Tragic: Window cleaner Mark Fairhurst who drowned in his bucket. Above with his eight-year-old son Patrick

The inquest heard that Mr Fairhurst, from Wigan, had complained of heart palpitations a few months earlier but had not consulted a doctor. Elizabeth Bebe, whose windows he was cleaning at the time of his death in June last year, told the Bolton hearing of her shock at discovering him.

"I went out to hang some washing when I saw a ladder propped up against the wall," she said.

"I then saw Mark lying on the ground motionless, with his arms tucked in and his head tilted to the right inside the bucket.

"I went to a neighbour who called the ambulance and the police."

Miss Bebe, who lives near Mr Fairhurst, said it appeared that he had been standing by the bucket when he collapsed.

His relatives told the hearing in Bolton that he had complained of heart palpitations a few months earlier but had not been to see a doctor.

Mr Fairhurst, who had a son Patrick, now eight, had also been the victim of an assault in August 2005 and had suffered problems with his memory since then.

Pathologist Dr Charles Wilson said it was possible that Mr Fairhurst's blackout may have been linked to these problems but he could not say for sure.

A post- mortem examination found evidence of a latent heart condition, but the actual cause of his death was drowning. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

Afterwards, Mr Fairhurst's parents Tommy and Marjorie paid tribute to their son.

"He left us so suddenly and quickly that we are still in a state of shock," said his father.

"The days seem dark all the time but there are so many family and friends who have been supportive through these difficult times.

"My wife and I will miss our son for ever and will never forget his infectious love of life and his cheeky grin that could light a room up."