Delivery driver praised for helping elderly fall victim he spotted through letterbox
The family of a 96-year-old have praised the efforts of a frozen food delivery driver who came to her aid after a fall that later proved fatal.
An inquest at the Black Country Coroner's Court heard how widow Connie Bunn was first discovered with a fractured hip in the hallway of her West Bromwich home by her regular Wiltshire Farm Foods delivery man.
Giving evidence, her son-in-law Kenneth Bayley explained how Mrs Bunn was due to receive her order of pre-prepared meals on June 17.
However, when the delivery driver, known only as Alan, turned up at her address in Stoney Lane at around 11.15am, he received no response to the doorbell.
Knowing that Mrs Bunn would usually be in at that time, Alan decided to check on her rather than driving away, and went around to the back of her ground floor flat to look through a window into the lounge.
Seeing nothing, he then returned to the front door, and it was on peering through the letterbox that he saw Mrs Bunn lying on the floor of the hallway.
"He went beyond his remit," said Mr Bayley. "He had my wife's mobile number because he had spoken to her before about orders, and so he rang her."
Mrs Bunn's daughter was out shopping with their two-year-old granddaughter at the time, but on receiving Alan's call she was able to give him the code to the key box by her mother's front door.
Alan was then able to enter the property and without moving her did all he could to make Mrs Bunn comfortable, staying with her until her daughter arrived at around 12 noon, and then the ambulance service 10 minutes later. Paramedics identified that she appeared to have sustained a fracture to her hip, and she was taken to Sandwell General Hospital.
"The main thing to say as far as we were concerned is about the actions of the driver Alan. He was absolutely brilliant," added Mr Bayley.
Two days later Mrs Bunn underwent surgery to put a metal plate into her broken hip, an operation Mr Bayley noted she had previously had on her other hip too.
This latest surgery coupled with an ongoing heart condition saw Mrs Bunn's condition deteriorate, and on June 26, her daughter and son-in-law received a call to come to the hospital where she passed away.
After hearing all of the evidence on Monday, senior coroner for the Black Country, Zafar Siddique, made a conclusion of accidental death.
Offering his condolences to Mrs Bunn's family, Mr Siddique also commented on the actions of the driver, adding: "He should be commended for what he did."
