A CORONER has ordered an Andover pub to install a defibrillator after a man fell while drunk and hit his head in its courtyard.
An inquest into the death of Marc Davis was held in Winchester on February 23.
It heard that the 51-year-old, from Andover, had died at Basingstoke Hospital on March 29, 2025, following a fall in the courtyard of The Angel Inn, on Andover's High Street on March 23.
The inquest was led by the area coroner for Hampshire, Southampton and Portsmouth, Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp.
In a statement, Michael Black, a longtime friend of Mr Davis, recalled the events of that day, stating that he and his wife met Mr Davis at The Angel Inn around 7.20pm, where he was already "quite drunk."
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Mr Davis showed no concerning signs throughout the evening, but on their way out of the pub, he fell down six steps before hitting his head on the courtyard floor just after 11pm.
Alan Cleaver, manager at The Angel Inn, and its licence holder, Yvonne Burns, were both at the pub on the day in an unofficial capacity, helping staff if needed. Ms Burns had been drinking with friends on the night, as she was not on shift.
They said Mr Davis was not his normal self and had been falling asleep at his table, which resulted in a refusal of service at around 8.30pm.
South Central Ambulance Service said the first call was made at 11.07pm, and they arrived at 11.32pm due to a shortage in ambulances.
The nearest defibrillator to the site was located seven minutes away.
No vital signs were visible when they arrived, and his consciousness levels were three on the Glasgow Coma Score, which indicated brain damage.
HEMS also attended the scene and managed to re-establish a heart rate, after which he was taken to hospital.
Following the incident, ex-licensing officer for Hampshire Constabulary, Brian Swallow, visited the pub to assess key safety measures, but found that the first-aid kit was out of date and that the drink refusal logbook had been handwritten in a matter of minutes upon his arrival.
The hospital's cause of death was given as hypoxic brain damage, cardiac arrest, subarachnoid haemorrhage, and a fall, which Mrs Rhodes-Kemp concluded stemmed from acute intoxication.
A prevention of future death order will be issued by the coroner to the pub owners, requiring them to install a defibrillator on site.
To conclude, Mrs Rhodes-Kemp said: "I just wanted to say thank you to all our witnesses, and I also am really thankful to the family. I realise it is a really hard day, I'm very sorry for your loss. He sounds like a lovely man."
Speaking of Mr Davis, Mr Black said he was a lovely man.
He said: "Marc was lovely, he was a generous man, he would help you out if he could, he loved his green jumper, he's just honestly the salt of the earth, and I've never heard anyone have a bad word for him."
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