INQUEST: Ex-Lancaster police worker falls to death from Thai balcony

A former police worker from Lancaster fell to his death from a fourth floor flat in Thailand after a night out.
Stuart Railton.Stuart Railton.
Stuart Railton.

An inquest held at Lancaster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday heard that Stuart Railton, 54, had been out in Udon Thani, northern Thailand, where he was living at the time.

The former accountant for Lancashire Constabulary was originally from Lancaster, but had taken voluntary redundancy in England and gone to Thailand looking for work.

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On March 15, Mr Railton returned to his apartment at around 3.20am.

He is believed to have lost his balance while trying to urinate and plunged over the railing of the balcony, sustaining fatal injuries.

A security guard at the Top Mansion apartment block had seen Mr Railton return home and enter his flat.

A short time later the guard heard a loud noise and ran to see what had happened.

He discovered Mr Railton and called the police.

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Police searched Mr Railton’s room, where they found the door unlocked and no sign of a struggle.

There was also an amount of urine on the balcony.

A post mortem carried out by Dr Jirawat Tiradechawat in Thailand found the cause of death to be a blood clot on the brain along with spinal cord fractures at the waist and neck.

Coroner Richard Taylor returned a conclusion of accidental death.

He said: “It is believed Mr Railton has fallen from the balcony while he was urinating.

“It appears that for whatever reason he has overbalanced.

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“There’s nothing to suggest this is anything other than an accidental death.”

Mr Railton had described himself on social media as an accountant who worked in various finance departments at Lancashire Constabulary between November 1998 and December 2015.

It is understood he spent time working in both Lancaster and Morecambe police stations.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “Our thoughts remain with Mr Railton’s family and friends at this time.”