Tributes to tragic window fall victim

Published on Friday 13 August 2010 17:06

TRIBUTES have been paid to a man who fell 40 feet to his death from the window of his flat in Leith.

Richard Pennycook was pronounced dead by paramedics after falling on to Cables Wynd from the top-floor flat last Sunday evening.

The 35-year-old was described by his family as a "special person" who had bravely battled illness from an early age.

Relatives are planning a service in Lorimer Chapel at Warriston Crematorium on Monday, with mourners asked to "dress to celebrate his colourful life".

Floral tributes have been left at the spot where he died below his flat in Yardheads, a block of flats overlooking Cables Wynd. One of the messages read: "RIP Penny. Forever your moon face. P & H."

Friends had even left a roll of tape hanging from the wall so other messages could be attached to the makeshift memorial.

Police said his death was a "tragic accident" and was not being treated as suspicious.

Neighbour Chris MacDonald, 24, a delivery driver, said: "It's really sad. I was coming home when I saw that the street had been cordoned off. That's when I found out someone had fallen.

"The flats can get quite hot, especially during the summer, and I often kept my window open. They're quite big windows too so it's easy to see how an accident like that could happen.

"I would speak to him on the stairs as he lived on the floor above me. It's terrible that this happened to him."

Mr Pennycook is survived by his parents, Brian and Linda, who described him as a "loved and cherished son", and his sister, Caroline.

A police spokesman: "Police investigated the circumstances surrounding the death of a 35-year-old male who fell from a building in the Cables Wynd area of Leith on August 8. The male fell from the building at around 6pm and was pronounced dead at the scene by ambulance crew. His death is not suspicious."

Mr Pennycook died on the same day that Emma Louise Paterson, from Blackhall, fell to her death from a flat in Dundas Street.

The 33-year-old fell from the first-floor window into the basement area in front of the property.

It is thought that she was attending a party and slipped from the window ledge.

She was declared dead at the scene.

Police said that her death was not being treated as suspicious and a report has been submitted to the procurator fiscal.