Truro Cathedral steps dedicated to fall victim

A cathedral's steps have been refurbished after a woman fell on them and died three years ago.

Jan Stuart, 66, died after suffering head injuries on Truro Cathedral's Chapter House stairs in 2018.

Her husband, Paul, campaigned for the steps to be improved following her death and said the completed work was a "long time coming".

The Bishop of St Germans, the Right Reverend Hugh Nelson, said they were now "completely restored and safe".

Mrs Stuart was leaving a service at the cathedral on 3 June 2018 via the steps at the rear of the building when she fell.

She died in hospital as result of her injuries two days later.

Mr Stuart said the unveiling on Sunday of the steps and a commemorative plaque dedicated to his wife had been "very meaningful" and "emotional".

"It's been a long time coming, but I'm glad we've been able to do it," he said.

"I'm glad that we've finally been able to meet together and have the steps refurbished, and, hopefully, that will mean there's less of a chance of somebody else having an accident in the same way.

"If we've achieved that, then I think we've achieved something."

Jan Stuart worked as a civil servant before her retirement and had signed up to be an organ donor, unbeknown to her husband.

It meant she had been able to save the lives of five people, including a five-year-old girl, which "brought some comfort", Mr Stuart told the BBC.

Bishop Nelson said the steps, which had been the site of "a horrible tragedy", could now become a site of memorial.

He said: "The steps are now entirely safe and nobody in the cathedral above all would want anything like this to ever happen again.

"This is some years after [Jan's] death and there's just a wonderful turnout of people who still remember her with great love, and I trust that love will continue on through the years."

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