A YOUNG barman died after drinking the equivalent of 17 pints in two hours, an inquiry heard yesterday.
Colleagues of Stuart Foster, 27, didn't call an ambulance after he passed out at the nightclub where he worked. Instead, they took photos of him and poured water over his head.
A workmate took him home in her car but left him in the back seat because she couldn't wake him. She found him dead a few hours later.
Tests showed Stuart had drunk 30 units of alcohol - the equivalent of 17 pints of lager. His blood alcohol levels were more than six times the drink-drive limit and in the range of "fatal poisoning".
Stuart's dad William watched CCTV film of his son's drinking binge yesterday on the first day of a fatal accident inquiry.
At one point, Stuart was seen falling from his seat. His colleagues at Edinburgh's Cavendish nightclub left him on the floor and carried on drinking.

Fellow workers were caught on camera "making a fool of" Stuart by pouring water over him, putting a jacket over his head and taking pictures of him. He didn't react.

The inquiry heard that Stuart, originally from Kelso in the Borders, finished his last shift at the Cavendish at 1.30am on June 11 2004. He then drank with pals until the club closed and carried on drinking after closing time.

The film from the club's security cameras showed him slumped in a chair at around 3.50am, apparently unconscious.

Rachel Simnett, a bar manager at the Cavendish, took Stuart home to her flat. She told police that colleagues helped her put him in her car because he couldn't walk.

Simnett, 28, said she couldn't wake Stuart when she got home and had to leave him in the car. She said she heard a "grunting noise" as she placed a pillow under his head.

At around 11.30am, Simnett and her flatmate found Stuart's body in the car and called 999.

Paramedic Garry Baldie, 47, told the inquiry he had been dead for two or three hours.

The man in charge of the Cavendish that night, senior bar supervisor David Pennycook, 28, told the inquiry he "got it wrong" by failing to call an ambulance.

Pennycook, who now works in financial services, admitted that "with hindsight" he should have got the club's first aider to look at Stuart.

He agreed that he didn't consider how Simnett would get Stuart out of her car once she got him home.

Pennycook had done a course which taught staff how to react if someone was ill through drink.

Fiscal Lesley Thomson told him: "You just sat there and observed Mr Foster being made a fool of and your only involvement was to ensure he was off the premises."

Police inspector Ray Morton, who worked for the licensing board in 2004, told the inquiry no one at the club gave Stuart the help that "could have changed events".

He added: "If Mr Foster was unconscious from alcohol, it is technically a drug overdose. An ambulance should have been called."

The Cavendish had its licence suspended for three months after Stuart's death. It reopened in 2005, renamed Lava and Ignite.

The inquiry at Edinburgh Sheriff Court continues.

SHOUTwire

Originally Posted by BleedingHeart Hate to say but its a society where passing out from drink is normal and often nothing to worry about apparently. No wonder no one saw this coming.

Summer lust, oceans still left to cross.

Originally Posted by larsen the bar tenders should know when to stop/not serve a customer, even if he isn't buying the drinks they should be keeping a close eye on their customers and the state they're in. pub watch!

Originally Posted by Ophiel Ophiuci Please don't let's do this. Some dude poisons himself by drinking 15 units of alcohol per hour for two hours, and you're saying it's anyone's fault but his? OK, so after his lack of responsibility for his personal safety, there are others who could have done more. But in terms of negligence, after the main culprit - the dead guy - there's a fucking massive drop-off. Yes, it sucks that we don't have anyone to hold to account. But deal. Let's not start accusing anyone of causing his death unless they actually did/failed to do something that one could reasonably expect to kill someone in a significant number of incidents. Sorry, the above's a little rambly. But I know how I feel about this. Also: WHAT A LIGHTWEIGHT.

Originally Posted by Ophiel Ophiuci It's kinda hard to say "you can't serve people who are drunk". People go to bars to get drunk. How do you decide that, at a certain point, someone is now too drunk? It's not like you can really keep track of how much someone's had, especially if other people are buying them drinks.

Originally Posted by Ophiel Ophiuci But in this instance, since people were buying booze, you might not be so able, particularly if it was busy and if there were several different people doing it.

Originally Posted by Ophiel Ophiuci I know, I just think it's obviously going to be problematic to judge how drunk someone is. I mean, yes, you can tell if someone's drunk, but gaging how drunk is going to be a lot more subjective, surely.

Originally Posted by larsen obviously if it was a busy club i'd imagine it would be alot harder but in a bar or a pub even if it's on a busy night you generally take note of the groups and if he was a regular it would be even easier to remember what and how much he's drinking. also if you've got a good team around you that works, you inform each other if you think someone's on their way to becoming intoxicated, if you think they've had too much inform each other to no longer serve them etc. working behind a bar isn't just about getting the drinks out.