A 26-year-old woman tragically di£d after falling backwards while walking to the toilets with a friend on a night out at a city centre bar.
The fall led to severe injuries and the woman di£d nearly a month after in hospital.
An inquest into Georgia Harry’s de@th was held at Gerard Majella Courthouse yesterday, Wednesday, July 23, where it was heard the civil servant from Aigburth had been out with friends on Sunday, March 16 this year. She met her friend Michael Pollard around 3pm at Punch Tarmey’s in Liverpool, before heading off to see another friend.
Mr Pollard saw her again later that night at Lost bar on Seel Street around 2am on Monday, March 17. He recalled that Georgia had been drinking both lager and vodka while with him.
At around 2.15am, the pair left the group to go to the toilet in the basement. As they walked down the stairs, Georgia held Mr Pollard’s arm, but her legs “went from beneath her” and she fell, hitting her head on the concrete floor.
Sean Moogan, a witness standing at the bottom of the stairs, told the inquest that he had not been drinking that night.
In a statement, he said: “I was in Lost on Seel Street seeing my friends. I wasn’t drinking at all this night. I had just been inside the toilets. As I have got to the stairwell, I have seen a male and female walking down the stairs.”
He said Georgia’s legs gave way about six steps from the bottom and swung up to head height when she fell.
Mr Pollard ran to help her and screamed her name. Mr Moogan, a former personal trainer with first aid training, told him to stay calm and not move her in case her injuries worsened.
Paramedics rushed Georgia to Aintree Hospital, where she was assessed and had blood tests, before being transferred to The Walton Centre. A toxicology report found she had an alcohol level of 294, about three and a half times the drink-driving limit, and a “low level of ketamine.”
She sadly di£d on April 13, 2025, after being kept on life support.
An inspection by Liverpool City Council found the stairs had no slip strips, a breach which was later addressed. Area Coroner Anita Bhardwaj was told it was “more than likely that she did slip.” After an investigation by police into whether Georgia was pushed down the stairs, it was concluded by Detective Inspector Dillon of Merseyside Police that this was not the case.
In a statement read to the court on his behalf, it was heard how a group of friends, including Georgia, had been crowded round a table before she and Mr Pollard left to go to the toilet. He was seen taking something from his jumper, with Georgia then linking arms with Mr Pollard as they walked down the stairs. Between two CCTV cameras, Georgia could be seen “falling at speed” down the stairs and hitting her head.
Nicola Poulton, Georgia’s mum, said she was “fun, outgoing and hardworking” and “always had a smile on her face”.
A post mortem found her de@th was a result of extensive brain injury caused by a fall.
Concluding the inquest, Ms Bhardwaj said: “More likely than not that Georgia has di£d from the injuries sustained from the fall. From the evidence we have heard, there is nothing to suggest that it was nothing more than an accident. Georgia Leigh Harry di£d by an accident.”
She added: “These are absolutely tragic circumstances surrounding her de@th.”
