Bonfire fall man dies

A 30-YEAR-OLD man died today from injuries he suffered when he fell into a bonfire in the back garden of his Ipswich home.

Damian Stewart suffered horrific burns in the accident in Camden Road, Ipswich, just after 5.45pm yesterday.

A police spokeswoman today said officers are not treating the incident as suspicious and do not believe a third party was involved.

However she added that alcohol could have played a part in the apparent accident.

The spokeswoman said: “The indication at this point is that he was not wanting to throw himself on the bonfire.

“It looks like there was no third party involved.

“It may have been a possibility alcohol was involved.”

Mr Stewart was taken by ambulance to Ipswich Hospital following the incident and was later transferred to the specialist burns unit at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, where he lost his fight for life this morning.

Friends of Mr Stewart are believed to have witnessed the horrific accident and had visited his bedside last night.

Richard Podd, 23, said he had accompanied friends who were with Mr Stewart at the time of the accident to the hospital.

He said: “They said he had third degree burns. He was unconscious but I was told he was stable.”

Neighbours in the quiet street, which is off Foxhall Road, told of a flurry of activity as the emergency services arrived on the scene.

One woman, who did not wish to be named, said she smelt smoke when she arrived home from work and then saw two police cars, an ambulance and two fire engines arrive.

Inspector Mike Hinshelwood, from Suffolk police, said: “Police and ambulance services attended an address in Camden Road because a 29-year-old man had accidentally fallen into a bonfire in his back garden.”