Inquest Into Bin Death Student Begins

A student got drunk on his first night in the UK and was crushed to death in the back of a refuse lorry after falling asleep in a giant wheelie bin, an inquest heard yesterday.

Canadian Garrett Elsey was spending his first night in the UK

Tragic Garrett Elsey, 22, downed a dozen drinks with a British medical student friend he met on a rugby tour just hours after enrolling at the University of Bristol.

But the following day bin men discovered the body of the masters student when they emptied their lorry at a plant in the outskirts of the city.

It is thought the student – who was only wearing shorts and a jumper – may have climbed into the large bin outside flats in Clifton to escape the cold.

Scenes outside the inquest

A post-mortem investigation found he may have been suffering hypothermia – made worse by the beer and spirits he downed that night.

Forensic pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffery told the inquest that Garrett was most likely alive when he was loaded into the back of the bin lorry.

She said: “Had Garrett been picked up as part of the first half of the collection, as we suspect he was, he would have been subjected to several of the compressions.”

The medical student Garett had been drinking with searched for his friend but left the club unable to contact him.

The processing plant where Mr. Elsey’s body was found by workers

Bouncer Eddie Essa said he asked the unfortunate student to leave when he saw “his feet weren’t holding him properly” and pointed him towards waiting taxis at around 1am.

But stocky Garrett, who did not usually drink large amounts, stumbled into a car park outside nearby flats.

Refuse collectors from May Gurney, contracted by Bristol City Council, said they did not notice anything unusual when they collected the bins at around 7.15am.

It was only when they were emptied at the processing plant in Avonmouth that workers discovered the body.

Garrett’s shoes were found near the bin which he climbed into, and Dr Jeffery said it was common for people suffering from hypothermia to paradoxically remove items of clothing.

The inquest continues.