Father's life ruined after plunging 100ft down hotel lift shaft during stag weekend

  • Stephen Dinsdale was on stag party with five friends when beach lift broke
  • Plunged through cliff to the sandy cove below during high tide
  • Suing hotel after suffering flashbacks since the accident

By Rick Dewsbury

Published: | Updated:


Stephen Dinsdale injured his leg after plunging 100ft to the ground in a broken lift

Flashbacks: Stephen Dinsdale injured his leg after plunging 100ft to the ground in a broken lift

A father-of-two who was on a stag weekend with five friend when a lift got stuck and plunged 100ft to the concrete ground is suing the hotel over his injuries.

Stephen Dinsdale, 44, has endured terrifying flashbacks and gruelling physiotherapy since the accident two years.

IT analyst Mr Dinsdale was on a stag weekend at the Hotel Victoria in Newquay, Cornwall, when he caught the lift with five friends. The lift runs between the beach and hotel through the cliff.   

But as the men were inside the lift it ground to a halt. The stag party was told the lift would be manually winched back down to the ground floor by hotel staff.

But while the rescue mission was taking place the lift fell 100ft to the  sandy cove below the hotel.

The lift hit the concrete base of the lift shaft and the door buckled in the impact, trapping guests from the double stag party - including both grooms.

The group endured a 45-minute ordeal where they were stuck waiting for lifeboats to reach them because of the high tide.

An investigation into the accident uncovered that the lift had not been through a thorough examination since July 2008 due to the presence of asbestos.

Less detailed inspections of the lift, dated from 2008 - 2010, identified a number of defects and the lift had become stuck, with passengers trapped inside, on previous occasions, Mr Dinsdale’s lawyers claimed.

Mr Dinsdale, from Walton, Surrey, needed ligament reconstructive surgery as well as extensive physiotherapy and rehabilitation after the incident.

He is now taking legal action against the lift manufacturers and hotel owners after the accident in in April 2010.

According to Russell Jones and Walker solicitors, the reconstructive surgery itself posed massive risks and he faced the prospect of losing his leg completely.

Mr Dinsdale said: 'The whole experience was just terrifying, we were meant to be on a stag weekend having a great time but on the first day things just went drastically wrong.

'Although the accident itself was awful the lasting impact of my knee injury is what has really affected me and my family life.

'It breaks my heart that I can’t play with my children and they often ask why I can’t run around with them like all the other dads.

The private lift, built to transport guests to a small cove below the clifftop hotel, plunged from the first floor all the way to sea level

The private lift, built to transport guests to a small cove below the clifftop hotel, plunged from the first floor all the way to sea level

'The settlement will help me get the best rehabilitation so I can hopefully get my life back on track.'

Fellow guest Carl White described the ordeal as 'terrifying'.

While his friend Neil McCracken said: 'The doors were open and we could see the walls flashing past.

'The fire brigade and RNLI came out because the tide had come in. We could see the sea at the end of the lift shaft. We are at sea level and someone at the hotel said the tide was coming in.

'It was pretty scary, we did not know whether we would drown trapped in this lift shaft.

'We were extremely worried.'

Mr Dinsdale, who injured his knee in the fall, in his hospital bed with fellow stag party reveller Neil McCracken alongside

Mr Dinsdale, who injured his knee in the fall, in his hospital bed with fellow stag party reveller Neil McCracken alongside

The father-of-two has been receiving treatment on his left leg, pictured, after the accident in the beach lift in Newquay, Cornwall

The father-of-two has been receiving treatment on his left leg, pictured, after the accident in the beach lift in Newquay, Cornwall

Kimberley Owen, principal lawyer at Russell Jones and Walker, part of Slater and Gordon Lawyers, said: 'Court proceedings have been issued as responsibility for the accident is yet to be admitted in full by the two defendants, Otis ltd, the manufacturer and installer of the lift, and PAVH International, which owns and runs the Hotel Victoria.

'We hope that the issuing of court proceedings will help focus the defendants’ minds and enable Mr Dinsdale’s case to reach a speedy conclusion so he can attempt to rebuild his life.'

Eighty five rescuers including coastguards, lifeboatmen, firefighters, police and ambulance crews were involved in the rescue.

The rescued members of the stag party, from left, Carl White, Mark Wilkinson, Neil McCracken, Colin Floyd and Tony Goodwin

The other rescued members of the stag party, from left, Carl White, Mark Wilkinson, Neil McCracken, Colin Floyd and Tony Goodwin

They had to be freed by firemen and then taken by lifeboats from the sea covered cove to waiting paramedic teams.

Jamie Luke, hotel general manager, said staff had tried unsuccessfully to lower the lift manually to the ground floor.

He said: 'The lift hit the fall arrestor and in doing so we believe overshot past the beach ground level.

'It was a very stressful time for all concerned.'

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