A YOUNG Dudley father fell 40ft to his death after trying to climb over a ‘faulty’ fire escape gate, a coroner’s court heard.

Chris Brookes, from Wrens Nest, had been out drinking in Wolverhampton on the evening of October 28, 2017, following his brother Craig’s birthday.

Black Country Coroner’s Court was told the Dudley-born 22-year-old ended up at the city’s bus station, where he became trapped on a ‘balcony’ after walking through a one-way fire escape door.

As he attempted to climb over the gate at the other end of the balcony – which overlooks the ring road – to get back onto a footpath, he was thought to have lost his footing and slipped, dropping onto a bus lane below.

Despite being rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital at about 3.40am, medics were unable to save him.

Fire safety inspector Steve Clegg told the inquest he believed the gate was faulty and not sealed, but a pad which released the gate needed to be “hit right” or it would appear locked.

He also said security staff did not respond to the door alarm being sounded by Chris, and that another man almost died trying to scale the same gate in April last year.

Craig Brookes, who described his brother as “bubbly” with an infectious personality, said he had been out with Chris, his family and friends in pubs around Dudley to celebrate his birthday.

He said after an evening of drinking he headed home at about 11.30pm, while Chris and a few other friends moved on to Sedgley before ending up in Wolverhampton.

The inquest heard Chris, whose partner has since given birth to his second child Chris Junior, was turned away from a club in the city centre, causing him to be separated from a friend.

Mr Brookes said his brother was probably trying to make his way home to Tame Road, in Oldbury, when he ended up at the bus station at 2am on October 29.

Following his tragic fall, the assembler at Elta Fans, in Kingswinford, suffered a fractured scalp, ribs, spine and arm, numerous cuts to the right hand side of his body and extensive bleeding on the brain.

The post mortem found Chris had 108mg of alcohol in 100ml of his blood – slightly exceeding the drink-drive limit of 80mg, and he had taken a “low level” of cocaine at some point during the evening.

Senior Coroner Zafar Siddique concluded Chris’ death was accidental, but he raised concerns with the safety of the fire escape, including the height of the railings on the balcony and the gate opening mechanism, adding he would write a report to the relevant authorities.

The inquest heard extra emergency lighting and warning signs have since been installed on the fire escape, while the initial fire exit door is due to be made two-way.