Tributes to dad who died after fall from ladder

A POPULAR Weston dad has died from severe brain injuries after falling just a few feet from a ladder.

Jerry Price was clearing out the garage at his Locking Castle home when it is believed he slipped and banged his head on the floor.

He tried to raise the alarm and his 11-year-old son Josh discovered his father slumped outside the back door of their semi-detached house in The Maltlands on October 28.

An ambulance took the 45-year-old to Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, where he underwent emergency surgery, but his family was told a few hours later that he did not survive because of the major brain injuries he had suffered.

This week Jerry’s family paid tribute to the ‘fun-loving and bubbly’ man, a staunch Bristol Rovers supporter.

His death is the second sudden tragedy to strike his loved ones in the past few years, after his brother Martin died four years ago when he electrocuted himself while mowing the lawn.

The former painter and decorator had been married for just 25 days when he died, just three days after returning from his honeymoon.

An inquest is also due to be held into Jerry’s death to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the former Wyvern school pupil’s death.

His partner of 19 years, Hayley Brooks, says she wants all Bristol Rovers supporters to wear their team’s kit at his funeral tomorrow (Fri) to reflect the passion Jerry had for the club.

The 42-year-old Bristol Children’s Hospital nurse said: “I don’t really know what happened.

“He was using the 6ft-high loft ladder to clear out the garage.

“The next thing I knew Josh came in and said his dad was unwell and I found him by the back door.

“He wasn’t making sense so we called an ambulance and he was rushed to Frenchay.

“I didn’t really know what was happening, but about four hours after he went into surgery I was told that he had sustained significant brain injuries from the fall and had died.”

Hayley, who also has a daughter with Jerry, six-year-old Vikki, says Jerry, who grew up on the Bournville estate with parents Gloria and Brian, was an ‘easy-going’ man and had many friends.

He could be found a couple of nights a week having a drink with some of them at his ‘second home’, the Borough Arms, in Locking Road, where his wake will be held tomorrow.

Family and friends are welcome to attend there and at the funeral beforehand at Weston Crematorium in Ebdon Road, Worle, at 11.30am.

It is family flowers only, but donations can be made to Frenchay Hospital’s head injury unit and Bristol Children’s Hospital.

Jerry, who worked at Manuflex engineering company in Highbridge until last year, also leaves behind a brother, Steven, and sister Alison.

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