First pictures of pretty student who died after falling 20ft from warehouse roof in ‘drunken prank gone wrong’
- Vanessa Clarke died in the early hours of Saturday morning near popular student pub
- Grieving friends have left a University of Bath cheerleading vest and floral tributes nearby
By Charles Walford
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This is the pretty university cheerleader who fell to her death through a warehouse roof in the early hours of Saturday.
Vanessa Clarke, a student at the University of Bath, plunged more than 20ft onto the concrete floor of a builders’ merchant warehouse in a ‘drunken prank gone wrong’.
It is understood that she may have been drinking in a nearby student pub, the Green Park Tavern, and could have been making her way back into town when the accident happened.
Tragedy: Vanessa Clarke fell to her death in what was believed to be a drunken prank gone wrong
Tragic: Tributes, including a Bath cheerleading top left near the spot where Miss Clarke fell to her death
Tributes have since been pouring in for the 22-year-old; one message left with a bunch of flowers reads: ‘Colourful ones for a colourful princess.’
Police are unsure why she was there, but believe alcohol was involved in the incident at around 4am on Saturday.
Miss Clarke, who is believed to be from London, was in her third year of a Computer Science with Business course at the University of Bath.
She was also a member of the university cheerleading squad, the Bath Jets.
Tributes to the young woman have appeared on on Twitter. One user, Satender Kumar Mall, wrote: ‘Sad to hear that my project colleague Vanessa Clarke passed away…May her Soul rest in peace.
‘She was honest and hard-working team member.’
Another user, Bath student Stephen Goater wrote: ‘Truly a pleasure to have known and worked with you, Vanessa.’
Death: The Travis Perkins warehouse where Miss Clarke’s body was found
The university said in a statement: ‘The University is saddened to announce the death of Vanessa Clarke, a third year Computer Science with Business undergraduate student.
‘Vanessa’s family has been informed and the Coroner’s Office is now investigating the circumstances of her death.
‘Police are treating Vanessa’s death as a tragic accident and inquiries are continuing.
‘The University wishes to express its deepest sympathies to her family and friends.
‘We recognise the impact this will have on students and staff who knew Vanessa and are offering a range of support.’
Miss Clarke fell through the roof of the Travis Perkins warehouse on Lower Bristol Road, in Bath.
A cheerleading top and bouquets of flowers were left on railings on Midland Bridge Road overlooking the site.
Plunge: A view across the River Avon in Bath towards warehousing thought to be part of the same building where Miss Clarke died
Poignant: Locals walk past tributes left to the unnamed University of Bath student who plunged to he death through a warehouse roof
The spot is close to a popular student pub called the Green Park Tavern.
Terry Norris, 46, who lives along the Lower Bristol Road, said: ‘Lots of students drink at The Green Park Tavern, so perhaps the girl was making her way back into town when the accident happened.’
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: ‘A 22-year-old female was found having fallen around 20ft onto a concrete floor through a roof.
‘Attempts were made to resuscitate her but they were unsuccessful and she sadly died at the scene.
‘We are not treating the death as suspicious and the next of kin have been informed.’
Building supply company Travis Perkins, who own the Bath warehouse where Vanessa died, released a statement saying they were conducting their own internal investigation.
The statement also said: ‘Travis Perkins would like to send its sincere condolences to the family of the deceased.’
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Categories: News Tags: 20ft, after, died, drunken, falling, First, from, gone, Pictures, prank, pretty, Roof, student, warehouse, wrong
Unilever scientist who helped develop Slimfast drinks throws himself from roof of work HQ after being made redundant
- Eminent doctor returns to deserted Unilever building to kill himself the day after finishing work for the last time
- 48-year-old had been developing ready-to-consume drinks for Slimfast and Lipton Tea
By Anthony Bond
Last updated at 12:43 PM on 9th February 2012
Depressed: Dr Clive Blackburn jumped to his death from the roof of Unilever in Bedfordshire just hours after being made redundant from his high-powered job
A top food scientist jumped to his death from the roof of his work laboratory just hours after being made redundant, an inquest has heard.
Dr Clive Blackburn – behind big brand names including Slimfast and Lipton Tea – could not cope with losing his position at food giant Unilever, so meticulously planned his death.
He went to the deserted Unilever building on a Saturday – the day after finishing work for the last time – and duped security staff by saying he was collecting personal belongings.
The 48-year-old planned his suicide even adding the date of his death and the length of his employment at the Unilever development laboratories on a social networking site the day before he died.
He had not been able to handle being made redundant and saw his GP on several occasions leading up to his death complaining of depression.
Coroner David Morris told the inquest: ‘He was made redundant with his last working day on November 11.
‘It appears he gained access to the building at around 4pm on November 12 having asked security for his swipe card to collect his belongings.
‘Security staff became concerned when they couldn’t locate him after several hours and called the police.
‘His body was eventually found lying on grass on the grounds of the site.
‘The cause of his death was recorded as multiple bone and soft tissue injuries, consistent with a fall from height.’
Paramedics were called to the Unilever site in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, in the early hours of November 13 but the eminent doctor, who was influential in the food science world, was pronounced dead at the scene.
His body was found on a grassed area at the back of the complex.
Scene of tragedy: Colworth Science Park in Sharnbrook, near Bedford, where Dr Clive Blackburn threw himself off the roof of his laboratory
He was told by company directors that he was at risk of being made redundant last May and colleagues reported him behaving strangely at work after that point, the inquest in Bedford heard.
He regularly saw his GP, Dr Jonathan Wali, suffering from depression and confided that he felt he had no hope for the future.
He told his GP that he was turning up for work and ‘going through the motions’ but had been dreading being out of work.
He was being considered for second interviews for potential jobs but Dr Blackburn told his GP his last day at the company was ‘looming large in his thoughts.’
Talented: Dr Blackburn worked on big brand names including Slimfast and Lipton Tea
Dr Blackburn had worked at the company for 15 years and had updated his profile on social network site LinkedIn shortly before his death to read 1963 – 2011 and the end of employment with Unilever as November 2011, after three years and three months as the Group Leader, Drinks Design department.
Personal details on the site can only be changed by the page’s owner who has access to a password.
Dr Blackburn had been employed at the Unilever offices since 1996 developing ice-cream production, instant tea and improving the shelf life of food.
For the past three years he had been the manager of a team of 20 employees and had been developing ready-to-consume drinks on behalf of Slimfast, Lipton tea and soya based products.
Coroner Morris added: ‘He was a highly intelligent and highly qualified scientist who struggled with anxiety. With the impending redundancy he developed severe depression.
‘I have no alternative but to record a verdict that he took his own life, whilst suffering from acute depression.’
A year before his death Dr Blackburn moved into a converted Grade II listed home with his wife Elaine in Tithe Barn, Felmersham, Bedfordshire, less than two miles from the Unilever offices.
His wife, who attended the inquest, said she did not want to comment on his death.
- For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 909090 or visit a local Samaritans branch. See www.samaritans.org for details
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Categories: News Tags: after, being, develop, drinks, from, helped, himself, MADE, redundant, Roof, scientist, Slimfast, throws, Unilever, Work
Ark of Covenant ‘to be revealed’ after leaking roof in Ethiopian chapel
- Ark contains Ten Commandments God ‘gave’ to Moses on Mount Sinai
- One holy monk is the only person allowed to see the holy box…
- …but he’ll need a hand carrying metre long wooden structure to new home
By Rick Dewsbury
Last updated at 7:50 PM on 4th December 2011
A very British problem of a leaky church roof could be about to give the world the chance to glimpse the legendary Ark of the Covenant.
That’s because the claimed home of the iconic relic – a small chapel in Ethiopia – has sprung a leak and so the Ark could now be on the move.
The Ark – which The Bible says holds God’s Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai – is said to have been kept in Aksum, in the Chapel of the Tablet, adjacent to St Mary of Zion Church, since the 1960s.
According to the Old Testament, it was first kept in the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem for centuries until a Babylonian invasion in the 6th century BC.
Leaking roof: The Chapel of the Tablet in Ethiopia that holds the Ten Commandments and has the water damage. The St Mary of Zion church, that originally held the tablet, can be seen in the foreground
Since then it’s been the goal of many adventurers and archaeologists to find it. Most-famously, but also fictitiously, Indiana Jones was shown in the 1981 Steven Spielberg film Raiders of the Lost Ark.
There has also been a long-running claim from the Orthodox Christians of Ethiopia that they have had the Ark for centuries, and since the 1960s it has apparently been kept in the chapel.
This small and curiously-styled building is surrounded by spiked iron railings, and situated between two churches, the old and new, of St Mary of Zion in central Aksum.
No one has been allowed to see the holy object, described in scripture as being made from acacia wood, plated with gold and topped with two golden angels, except one solitary elderly monk, who must watch over the Ark for the remainder of his life, and is never allowed to leave the chapel grounds.
But now the chapel – which was designed by the Ethiopian leader Emperor Hailie Selassie – has had to be covered in a tarpaulin to stop rain getting in.
The water damage could mean the Ark will be moved for the first time in decades giving religious worshippers and adventurers alike a chance to see it.
British photographer Tim Makins, 54, who is a travel photographer for publications like Lonely Planet, discovered the church had sprung a leak whilst travelling through Ethiopia last September.
Holy work: Workmen clear the ground adjacent to the Chapel of the Tablet. Right, Paintings in the old church of St Mary of Zion and the covered entrance to the inner chapel
He believes the moving of the Ark could be one of the best ways to discover if there’s any truth in the claims of the East African state.
Tim said: ‘During my most recent visit to the church, I was surprised to see some ground adjacent to the ”Chapel of the Tablet” being cleared and levelled by workmen, and some quantities of building stone being assembled nearby.
‘Asking around, I managed to discover that a new temporary chapel is due to be built, and the Ark is to be moved into it while the original chapel is repaired.
‘It seems that the builders of the 1960s were not as careful as the builders of centuries past, and the roof of the chapel has developed some serious leaks that now need comprehensive repair work.
Sought after: Indiana Jones, right, carries away the glistening Ark of the Covenant in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark by Steven Spielberg
‘To protect the Ark, a tarpaulin now covers the roof of the chapel but this is just a temporary measure.
‘To renovate the building thoroughly, the roof must be stripped back to the bare bones and so a replacement chapel is to be built next door providing a temporary home for it.’
Tim said the construction of the new temporary chapel would take about three months according to workers and religious figures at the site, though he suspects that it will probably take much longer.
He added: ‘When the work is finished, the Ark of the Covenant will be carried to its new resting place.’
‘That this can be done by the one person allowed to see it is unlikely, as The Bible describes the size of the Ark as 2.5 cubits in length, 1.5 in breadth, and 1.5 in height.
‘Cubits in today’s measurements translate to about 1.31 metres x 0.79m x 0.79m and it is normally carried on two long wooden poles.
‘If it really is this size, and still contains the two stone tablets that list God’s Ten Commandments, then the elderly monk will no doubt need some help to transport it.’
Bonfire Night expected to be a damp squid after tornado rips the roof off a stable
- Fierce winds leave trail of destruction in rural Worcestershire
By Stephanie Darrall
Last updated at 2:51 PM on 5th November 2011
It looks like the aftermath of a tropical storm, but this scene of destruction took place on a farm in Worcestershire yesterday.
A tornado uprooted trees and tore the roof of a stable as it swept past the village of Inkberrow in the mid-afternoon.
Amazingly, the fierce winds threw the stable roof 20metres through the air before it came to rest stuck in the branches of a nearby tree.
Other trees were left broken in half at the Knowle Fields Barn Farm complex.
Twister: A tornado ripped the roof off a building and pulled up trees in Worcestershire yesterday
Waterlogged: Many roads in Essex became flooded on Friday, like this one in Ingatestone, after heavy rain
Incredibly, the storm passed over workers in a nearby office building, who didn’t realise the extent of the damage until they stepped outside after it had finished.
Dawn Wheatcroft, office manager at partitioning company Waterson’s Projects, which is based on the site, said that the storm seemed to ‘last forever’.
She said: ‘It seemed like forever whilst it was happening, although it probably lasted less than a minute.
‘It was a bit of a grey day but you never expect something like that to happen, it was one of the worst storms I’ve ever seen.’
Flooding: Heavy rain in the south caused road closures in Southampton yesterday
Weather experts believe the tornado may have been a funnel cloud, which can still cause destruction if it touches the ground.
Tornado sightings were also reported in nearby Redditch at the same time.
If not a washout, Bonfire Night looks set to be something of a damp squid as floods and torrential rain from last night give way to light rain mainly confined to Lincolnshire, East Anglia and South-East England.
Across remaining parts of the UK it will be a dry night with mostly clear skies.
Cold across Scotland and Northern Ireland with a widespread ground frost and an air frost in places. Mist and fog patches will develop too across parts of the north where winds are light.
Washout: Floods and heavy rain may turn Bonfire Night parties being held over the weekend into wet events forecasters have warned
Bristol bus accident: 6 injured as double decker roof ripped off by branch
- Injuries thought not to be life threatening
- ‘It was a pretty hellish… there was a lot of blood on people,’ says passenger
By Oliver Pickup
Last updated at 10:54 AM on 25th October 2011
Six commuters have been injured in a horrific rush hour accident after the roof of a double decker bus was completely ripped off by a low-hanging tree branch.
Those who suffered injuries this morning were taken from the scene at Fishponds Road in Bristol to hospital after the First Bus number 342 hit the tree branches.
It is thought that the trees had been partially brought down by strong winds over the weekend.
The wounded, who had been travelling upstairs, suffered multiple cuts and lacerations to their heads and faces as the roof of the white double decker bus was torn off and left 100 yards further along the road.
Emergency workers attend to the passengers of a double decker bus which had it’s roof ripped of by a tree in Bristol this morning
Emergency services arrived before 8am and performed a medical check on every passenger on the bus.
Paramedics treated injured patients in their seats on the top of the bus which was left totally exposed by the smash.
It is believed that six adults suffered cuts and lacerations to their heads, but the injuries are not thought to be life threatening.
Two were taken to Frenchay Hospital with minor cuts to their heads, with one man transported for treatment on a spinal board.
Three further patients were being assessed at the scene, but were expected to be treated at the back of an ambulance.
Passenger Simon Starr, 34, was travelling on the bottom floor when the bus hit the tree and said: ‘After the crash I walked up the stairs and there were people screaming. It was a pretty hellish sight and scary to be involved in.
‘No one was unconscious fortunately but there was a lot of blood on some people. The bus was about half full, but ten people on the top deck needed treatment.
‘I was reading a paper and there was just this almighty bang. It was like the bus had gone into the back of a car.
‘Speaking to other passengers though it appears there was one very low branch and it’s just hit that.
‘Speed wasn’t a factor, I wouldn’t blame the driver. This one branch was just lower and bigger than most.
Eye-witnesses said that there was a lot of blood following the crash
Meanwhile a spokeswoman for the Great Western Ambulance Service said: ‘We are checking over all of the passengers that were on the bus.
‘We believe we have six patients in total, with none thought to have suffered life threatening injuries. I believe all of the six are adults and not children.
‘They have suffered cuts to their heads and other head injuries. We have paramedics and specialist paramedics there as well.
‘They are working together to find out which passengers have what injuries. Two have been taken to Frenchay with not serious head injuries.
‘One of the two – a man – was taken on a spinal board but his injuries are not thought to be serious.’
The 342 bus had all of its roof torn off, after colliding with a low-hanging branch
A spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset police said: ‘Police were called to Fishponds Road, Bristol at around 7.40am this morning to reports of an incident involving a double decker bus.
‘The ambulance service is treating several passengers at the scene.
‘The road has been closed from the Eastville side of Hawkesbury Road and also the Fishponds Road junction with Brentry Road.
‘Motorists are being urged to avoid the area at this time.’
And a spokesperson for First Bus said: ‘We can confirm that there has been an incident this morning on Fishponds Road involving a Service 342 bus.
‘The top of the double decker bus was in collision with some tree branches which were hanging over the road.
‘The bus was in service at the time, with a number of passengers on board. A number of people have sustained injuries and have been taken to hospital for further treatment. None of the injuries are thought to be life threatening.
‘Our teams are on the scene and are working with the relevant authorities to determine exactly what has happened.
‘Our thoughts are with those people who were on the bus at the time of the incident and their family and friends.
‘We would like to take this opportunity to reassure people that such incidents are thankfully very rare, and that the bus remains one of the safest forms of transport in the UK.’
