Lee Davies

9 Oct 2020 · Coroner Joanne Lees · Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin

The coroner's concerns

1. unrestricted garden access enabling absconding
“it was likely that Mr [name redacted] had absconded on 17/6/19 by scaling a perimeter fence in the garden of Laurel Ward”
2. dense shrubbery concealing contraband
“The current planting arrangements based on the most recent photographs, do appear to provide ample ground coverage for ANY item to be concealed including drugs, drug paraphernalia, weapons, items that could be used as weapons and items in connection with absconding.”
3. lack of regular garden searches and surveillance
“There was no evidence that the garden was searched on a regular basis, patients were not observed in the garden unless their level of observation included eyesight observations, and there was no CCTV covering the garden area”
4. ongoing risk from planting arrangements
“My view is that circumstances of the current planting arrangements in the shrubbery present a risk of deaths which will continue to exist”