Wycombe Leisure Centre: Slip death car park 'not cleaned as advised'

A car park where an elderly man fell and died on his way to swimming was not being cleaned as recommended.

Harry Carter, 85, died a week after slipping in wet weather at Wycombe Leisure Centre car park in Buckinghamshire in December 2018.

The removal of oil residues and an annual spring clean were among cleaning recommendations not being carried out.

But a report added it was not "conclusive that adherence" would have prevented Mr Carter's fall.

The site's operator Places Leisure said: "All the information with regards to this situation has previously been provided and all the details appeared in the [inquest] court hearing which has already been brought to a close."

Cleaning operator Sasse has been contacted for comment.

Mr Carter was a regular swimmer at the leisure centre, and on 2 December he went to pay for a ticket at the car park but slipped and hit his head on the ground.

He died in hospital on 9 December.

The car park now has to close every time rain is forecast and a health and safety report carried out by Wycombe District Council found "there remains an ongoing risk of slips associated with the car park surface when wet".

The report, obtained by the BBC through the Freedom of information Act, said that there had been four previous slips, trips and falls since the car park opened in January 2016.

It said the car park's manufacturer "recommended a spring clean each year of the car park surface with a mild detergent to remove salt and de-icing compounds, the removal of oil residues at regular intervals and the use of low pressure hoses or wet/dry vacuum cleaners for cleaning the surface".

No spring cleans had taken place, while the surface cleans were not part of the planned maintenance programmes, the report said.

The reported noted the cleaning regime "discrepancies" but said "it was not conclusive that adherence to these recommendations would have prevented the accident".