Woman fell to her death from sixth-floor balcony while trying to unclog drainpipe

A woman fell to her death from the sixth floor of a tower block after leaning over her balcony to try and unblock a broken drainpipe.

Sarah McGreevy, 37, plunged from the block in Hackney, east London, after climbing onto a wooden box on her balcony to try and reach the clogged pipe.

An inquest into her death heard how residents in the council-owned building had complained about the pipes getting blocked, particularly after heavy rain, and took to clearing them themselves.

The coroner has now urged building freeholder Hackney Council to fix the guttering issues to prevent further accidents, warning residents would likely keep resorting to the risky practice.

Ms McGreevy, originally from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, suffered catastrophic injuries when she fell from the rented two-bedroom flat shortly before 10am on June 16. 

Police officers discovered a wooden box on the balcony and her mobile phone on a window ledge next to it.

Senior Coroner Mary Hassell wrote: ‘Police were told of  residents on the fifth and sixth floors climbing onto their balconies to manually unblock pipes, particularly following heavy rainfall.

‘The police investigation did not reveal any evidence to suggest that anyone else was involved in Ms McGreevy’s death or that she had any suicidal intent.

‘Photographs taken of Ms McGreevy’s hands following her death show dirt around her fingernails consistent with undertaking a cleaning task.

‘I found that it was more likely than not that Ms McGreevy had climbed onto the wooden box to clear the pipe and had accidentally fallen over the balcony.’

In a prevention of future deaths report she noted that there was evidence similar fatalities could occur unless action was taken.

She wrote: ‘Several residents reported a practice of climbing onto their balconies in order to clear blocked drainpipes. This practice carries a clear risk of falls.

‘The leaseholder of informed me that he was not aware of any work being undertaken to the guttering or drainpipes to the block following Ms McGreevy’s death

‘In the absence of remedial works, the practice of residents unblocking pipes themselves is likely to continue.’

The report, which was directed at the Operations Director of Tenancy and Homeowner Services at Hackney Council, gave the borough 56 days to respond.

A council spokesperson said: ‘This is a tragic case, and our thoughts are with the friends and family of Sarah McGreevy.

‘The Coroner has detailed a number of issues for us to consider in her Prevention of Future Deaths Report.

‘We do not expect anyone living in a Hackney Council home to clean their own guttering and like the Coroner, we want to ensure an incident like this doesn’t happen again. We will be carefully going through the report and responding as quickly as possible.’

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