OAP dies in hospital after falling on heated towel rail

AN elderly man has died after suffering serious burns when he fell on to a heated towel rail.John Brown, 95, was trapped against the towel rail after the accident as he got out of the bath at his Newhaven home.

His wife, Isa, was unable to pull him clear and called for an ambulance. He was transferred to a specialist burns unit but died on December 23.

The pensioner – who was born during the First World War and served in the Second World War – was described by grieving relatives as a fit and healthy man who still loved to dance.

Granddaughter Jennifer Brown, 21, told how the accident happened.

She said: “He had a fall when he came out of the bath.

“He fell against the heated towel rail and my gran couldn’t lift him. She went downstairs to call the ambulance.”

Mr Brown was treated at the specialist burns unit at St John’s Hospital, Livingston. It is understood his burns were responding to treatment when he caught pneumonia and died.

Ms Brown added: “We all loved him as a grandad. I was very close to him and will miss him a lot.

“He really loved the dancing. He used to go sequence dancing two or three times a week and went every Saturday with my gran.”

The family paid tribute to staff at the burns unit who cared for Mr Brown. The death notice said Mr Brown had died “suddenly, but peacefully, under the caring staff at the burns unit . . . surrounded by his family”.

Kapil Pasnat, who works in a nearby newsagent, said Mr Brown was a regular customer who always enjoyed a joke.

He said: “They were a very friendly couple. Mr Brown used to walk to the shop every day by himself and used to always tell me that he was 95 – he always joked about that.

“He bought a newspaper every day and him and his wife were a very nice couple.”

A neighbour, who declined to give her name, said: “I can’t believe it, it is really, really sad.

“They were a very pleasant couple and did everything together. They both loved gardening and have lived in the area for a long time.

“They were always walking hand in hand and stopped to say hello.”

Mr Brown leaves behind four sons – Gordon, Russell, Derek and Ian – as well as his grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at Warriston Crematorium on Friday, January 6.