Segway death down to 'act of courtesy' to dog walker on steep path

A MULTIMILLIONAIRE businessman who fell from a cliff while riding his Segway scooter probably died due to an "act of courtesy" to a fellow dog walker, a coroner has said.

An inquest in Leeds heard that Jimi Heselden fell 42ft from a footpath above the River Wharfe near Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, as he was taking his dog for a walk close to his home on 26 September last year.

Mr Heselden had bought the European licence for the Segway a few years before but was better known as a philanthropist and the successful owner of Hesco Bastion, which builds containers used to protect troops around the world.

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Camp Bastion in Afghanistan is named after his firm, the inquest heard.

Yesterday, dog walker Sean Christie told the coroner he was walking near Jackdaw Crag, by the river, when he saw Mr Heselden at the top of a steep incline apparently weighing up how he was going to tackle the sloping footpath on his X2, which is a rough terrain version of the Segway.

Mr Christie said that, from 40ft to 50ft away, he saw the businessman move a short distance backwards in a movement he assumed was to make room for him to pass.

He said Mr Heselden appeared to wobble and then went out of view.

Mr Christie said he found the 62-year-old face down and lifeless in the river below.

Recording an verdict of accidental death, West Yorkshire Coroner David Hinchliff told Mr Heselden's family: "I think it's probable - I think typical of Jimi and the type of man he was - he held back and waited as an act of courtesy to allow Mr Christie more room.

"In so doing, he's attempted to reverse the Segway. As a result of that he's got into difficulty."

The inquest heard that Mr Heselden's wife Julie last saw her husband earlier that morning when he said he was going out to feed his fish.

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The coroner told Leeds Coroners Court the businessman was probably out walking his dog when the accident happened. He heard how the path he was on was a metre and a half from the 42ft drop and tree branches in the area may also have contributed to his loss of control.

Mr Heselden is thought to have fallen on to the bank of the river before ending up in the water where he was found dead by Mr Christie.

A post-mortem examination found Mr Heselden died from "multiple blunt force injuries to the chest and spine consistent with a fall while riding a gyrobike".

Experts found no fault with the Segway and detectives found no evidence of any third party involvement or foul play.

Mr Hinchliff told the hearing: "It's such a shame and tragedy that such a great man should have died in this way."

The coroner said: "The fact is that Jimi was a local lad made good. Not made good because of any silver spoon in his mouth but because of his own hard work."

Earlier, in a statement read to the court, Mrs Heselden described her husband's rise from a humble start in the Halton Moor area of Leeds and his early job as a miner at Waterloo Colliery in the city.

Mrs Heselden described how he set up a sandblasting company after he was made redundant from the pit.

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But, she said, it was in 1989 when he had his major break - the invention of the Concertainer which he initially envisaged as an aid to combating coastal erosion. It is now used to build defences around military encampments - a modern alternative to sandbags.

The court heard how Mr Heselden was a well-known philanthropist who gave millions of pounds to a range of causes.

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