Peter Moorby

Dear Madam RE: The late Peter John Moorby We are in receipt of your letter of 23rd June 2022 and the Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths. I regret the delay in responding, but we have been away on an extended break since May and only returned home yesterday. We note the contents of your report, but would state that we do not consider further action to be necessary for the following reasons: ­
1. The incident was a single unfortunate accident, rather than the latest in a series of deaths. The gentleman was highly intoxicated and had been seen in the village and wandering on the road on several occasions during that afternoon and evening in a very inebriated state. We have lived in this village for over thirty years and have never experienced anyone with a problem with the river.
2. One simply cannot fall over the wall and into the river. The route from the house he was leaving to the main road would have led him well away to the right of the wall. He must have deliberately chosen to veer from the natural route and sit on the wall. Most of the stretch between the main road and the spot where he fell has a grassy bank or a bank with undergrowth and shrubs. To raise the level of the wall or indeed to erect any kind of barrier would completely spoil the enjoyment of the wildlife and ambiance of the setting.
3. The wall is adjacent to an unadopted road. This is not a narrow lane (4metres), but a road wide enough to take refuse vans, delivery vans etc.
4. The road is not a public thoroughfare. It is a private road for the use of all the residents of the lower part of Millstream Court. It is a cul de sac.
5. There are several solar lights and motion sensors lights along the unadopted road, so it is not in total darkness. It would be inappropriate and costly to install street lighting and would be harmful to the “Dark Sky ethos” and the local observance of the wildlife.

We, and other residents, do not feel any further action is necessary and, whilst we note your recommendations, we feel most strongly we should not have to bear any cost and considerable inconvenience and the diminishment of our enjoyment of our environment through the complete lack of judgement of one drunken individual.

Dear Sir With ref to your letter of !3'd June 2022. We personally have no issue with the wall. There are low walls all over Cumbria. And in actual fact further down the beck in Cark there is a large area with a drop that has no wall at all. It was very sad when Mr Moorby was found in the beck on 5th September 2021 whatever the circumstances had been. Mr Moorby was extremely inebriated. However we would be willing to contribute to put a sign on the wall stating 'low wall' if ALL the residents did and not just the ones mentioned in your letter. . And would be willing to put up an P.I.R light on our property 11 Millstream Court which would light up the access road in front of our property when someone went passed. We could not guarantee this would work every time and We would have to pay for this.

From: Sent: Mon Aug 15 18:11:40 BST 2022 To:

Subject: Case ref. 2443516 Death of Peter John Moorby. To The Coroner; We are answering your request re prevention of further deaths.
1. We feel this death was a freak accident.
2. We have lived here for 20 years and there have been NO accidents involving the river wall. In fact our neighbours say none have ever occurred in the last 30 years.
3. The part of the wall in question has no embankment, but is a straight fall on to rocks when the river is low. Most of rest of wall up to main road has a grassy or bushy bank.
4. The road is wide. Refuse trucks, removal vans, large delivery vans all use the road .There is no reason for people to walk into the wall.
5. Mr Moorby was seen earlier in the afternoon in question, walking unsteadily with a beer in his hand in the small park opposite the accident site. He was seen shortly after that on Cark Bridge leaning on the bridge wall, unsteady on his feet.
6. It is unfortunate that he was not accompanied or safe travel arranged when he left his friend's house later that evening.
7.The road is a cul de sac. It is NOT a thoroughfare. Residents, their family and delivery people use the road. There are a limited amount of people who use it.
8. Regarding our part of the wall, we have solar lights in summer to light up our short drive and road in front of the house. We have an electric light to use in winter.
9.We moved to our house on our retirement 20 years ago. We chose this house because it is a quiet location. We really enjoy watching the wildlife on the river. Kingfishers, Dippers, Wagtails, Herons, Eels and many ducks give us much pleasure. We would not have moved here if there had been a high wall facing our house. I am 76 and my husband is 81. We hope you find the above information useful , please contact us if you require any further information.