The family of a Brighton labourer who died after falling from a roof have spoken of their relief after an inquest jury’s verdict.

Ernie Taylor, a labourer, of Lodsworth Close, off Swanborough Drive, Whitehawk, died on his 30th birthday on Sunday 20 September 2020.

He suffered catastrophic injuries when he fell down the lightwell of a five-storey block of flats on Hove seafront three days earlier on Thursday 17 September 2020.

Mr Taylor landed in the basement courtyard at Essex House, St Aubyns Gardens, in Kingsway, Hove, and was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, where he died.

Moments before he fell, Mr Taylor had been taking photographs of asphalting work from the roof of the flats.

He had his back to the lightwell when he took the pictures on his phone after receiving a request by text message from his boss Gavin Damario.

Mr Damario, 42, who runs Damario Asphalt Roofing Ltd, told the inquest that he had not asked Mr Taylor to go on the roof to take the pictures.

The principal contractor, Stephen Ford, a sole trader, trading as Miles-Hersey, said that there was no need for any work to be carried out on the roof.

Mr Taylor’s family asked why tools were on the roof that appeared to indicate that he and the foreman on the job, Paul Damario, 65, had been cutting felt there.

Paul Damario told the inquest that everything had been within reach from the scaffold where they were working – and that the work had been done from the scaffold.

He said that some items may have been knocked out of place as he paced up and down during a 999 call.

Mr Taylor’s family said that photographs on his phone showed that everything was in the same place as when he took the pictures.

Yesterday (Thursday 19 January) the inquest jury – made up of seven women and four men – recorded a narrative verdict.

The jury said: “Based on the evidence, the roof was accessed at points during the ongoing work.

“We are satisfied that the following were a material contribution to Mr Taylor’s death

After the verdict, Mr Taylor’s partner Charlene Tilley, 30, of Southwick, said: “We can tell his children what happened now.”

Mr Taylor left a 10-year-old son Frankie and his daughter Shianne, 2, who was born a week after he died.

She added: “He was amazing, funny and caring. He wasn’t just my partner. He was my best friend.

“He was a good father to his son and he would have been an outstanding dad to his little princess.”

She and other family members were pleased that the inquest jury highlighted the lack of “edge protection” – handrail or guardrail – around the lightwell.

During the inquest they asked about the need for a rail around the opening being in the original schedule of works. They said that it was taken off the schedule by verbal agreement.

Mr Taylor’s sister Toni Taylor, 36, of Preston Park, said: “It’s the best outcome we could have had. It’s answered the majority of our questions.

“We will wait for the Health and Safety Executive report before we work out whether we want to take it further.”

She did not expect to hear the final conclusions of the HSE investigation for a couple of months.

She also paid tribute to her brother, saying: “He used to be a pain in the backside but, in the last couple of years before he lost his life, he made a change for the better. He turned his life around.”

During the inquest, the foreman on the job, Paul Damario, said that he was “a brilliant worker”, adding: “He was very energetic, very lively and always worked hard.”

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