Man died in river after road closure sign removed

A lifelong Norwich City fan who was driving home from a match drowned in a river after a road closure sign leading to a ford was left face down by the roadside, a coroners' court heard.

Barry Howard, 75, died when his car was swept 30m (100ft) down the River Tas near Newton Flotman on 13 December.

At his inquest, Norfolk County Council said it did not know how the sign at Shotesham Ford ended up on the verge of Mill Lane and that it was working on a permanent safety solution.

Area coroner Samantha Goward said she was concerned by the council's response to the "tragedy", and that it should take action to prevent future deaths.

"My concern is that people may not realise that stretch of road can lead to a car being swept into a river," she said.

The inquest heard Norfolk Police had been called to nine previous incidents involving trapped vehicles at the ford.

The inquest heard that on 13 December no road signs warning of the ford "would have been visible" until Mr Howard was already surrounded by water, which was 0.8m deep according to the gauge in its centre.

Water covered the road about 100m (330ft) either side of the crossing.

In a statement, Mr Howard's family said of the "awful night" that they did not believe he knew the road.

"We believe he did not have the information needed to make an informed decision or understand the risks," they said.

The council said that on 21 October it was asked by police to close Mill Lane following heavy rain.

Its highways department installed a road closure sign and plastic barriers as an emergency measure, which remained in place for the seven weeks leading up to Mr Howard's death.

When questioned by Mr Howard's family as to why a more permanent solution had not been installed during those weeks, David Jacklin, council area highways manager, said: "Ideally we could have put a diversion in place but they haven’t done that and it wasn’t followed up with anything more significant."

When asked why, Mr Jacklin replied: "I don't know; I can't answer that."

The coroner also asked Mr Jacklin whether he believed Mill Lane needed a sign to warn of potential floodwater, to which Mr Jacklin replied "no ma'am".

"Why is the road still closed then?" she replied.

"Because we still feel it's unsafe," Mr Jacklin answered.

Mr Jacklin insisted the current signs adhered to road safety laws, and said the road was not regularly inspected after being temporarily closed as the council did not have the "manpower".

He said the emergency highways team consisted of four workers.

The inquest was told the council was aware of road closure signs and barriers being removed by other motorists before Mr Howard's death.

The council said it was working on a long term safety solution, which could include automated signs which illuminate when floodwater exceeds an unsafe depth.

The road would remain closed until at least October and all fords in Norfolk were being reviewed, the council added.

Mr Howard's wife, Patricia, said her husband had been to Norwich City v Sheffield Wednesday that Wednesday evening.

He left a car park in Trowse at about 22:00 BST and told a friend he was taking an alternative route home to avoid football traffic.

At 22:15, his red Toyota Yaris sent out a signal to say his car had been involved in a "high velocity" incident.

After entering the water, Mr Howard called his wife and grandson but only "rustling" could be heard.

His car was found almost completely submerged the next morning.

Mr Howard, of Costessey, was a retired company director and a keen golfer.

A family statement said he was "a loving father, grandfather and friend to many.... extremely sociable and would befriend anyone he met".

His cause of death was given as drowning.

The coroner recorded a narrative conclusion and said the death was "contributed to by a lack of warning sign and road closure".

Ms Goward said she would write a prevention of future deaths report which would be sent to the council, which would have 56 days to respond.

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