Horror death of drunken train surfers

A pair of ‘extremely drunk’ friends died train surfing when they hit overhead wires carrying 25,000 volts of electricity, an inquest heard.

Ben Haddon-Cave, 27, and Paddy Bolster, 26, were found a mile apart on the overground line between Stratford and Hackney Wick in the early hours of March 21.

Mr Haddon-Cave, whose sister Jessie Cave played the character of Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter films, was discovered by firefighters after they were called by a neighbour shortly before 1am.

Mr Haddon-Cave also worked as an actor as well as a music producer and was expected to play the lead role in an upcoming film.

His other sister Bebe starred in ITV’s historical drama Victoria, playing Wilhelmina Coke.

Mr Haddon-Cave’s friend of seven years, Paddy Bolster, was a student at Aberystwyth University and had travelled up to London that afternoon to attend a comedy show.

Poplar coroner Mary Hassell told how the pair: ‘died on the 21 March 2019, Benjamin Haddon-Cave on the railway track adjacent to Hackney Wick railway station in London, Patrick Bolster adjacent to the Stratford railway station in London.’

A pathologist found that Mr Haddon-Cave’s remains indicated ‘severe intoxication or extreme drunkenness.’

‘Death will have occurred immediately because of high voltage electrocution and from there Ben’s body and clothing will have caught fire,’ explained the coroner.

The court heard how witnesses saw a bright red and orange flash on top of the train and heard the sound of electrical arcing.

Turning to Mr Bolster, the coroner said: ‘There were burns to the upper part of Paddy’s body consistent with high-voltage thermal trauma.’

She told how Mr Bolster is likely to have died primarily from trauma to the head but that electrocution also contributed to his death.

‘This trauma was probably caused when falling from the train. It is less likely that electrocution was the primary cause of death.’

A toxicologist found that Mr Bolster’s blood alcohol levels were ‘associated with extreme intoxication’.

Ben’s partner, Sylvia Gregorzko, said that the two friends had visited Howling Hop Brewery in Hackney Wick where she worked as a barmaid and had organised a comedy night.

The pair had been drinking with a larger group of friends, including Mr Haddon-Cave’s brother Jamie, who left earlier in the evening.

The group continued drinking in the brewery after the comedy gig ended and helped Ms Gregorzko tidy up.

The two friends decided to head back to Mr Haddon-Cave’s flat in Clerkenwell, leaving before Ms Gregorzko at around 12:45am.

CCTV footage showed the pair walking towards a housing estate behind the brewery where Ms Gregorzko believes they got onto the tracks by climbing through a hole in a fence.

She left around half an hour later and said: ‘I immediately noticed a large number of police vehicles outside Hackney Wick station.

‘Everything was good between me and Ben and he appeared to enjoy himself, particularly because of Paddy who he hadn’t seen for months.

‘They both had a few drinks and were tipsy but not particularly drunk,’ she said in a written statement.

She added: ‘I can only imagine that this was a purely spontaneous, spur of the moment opportunity.’

Paddy’s girlfriend, Sunita Edirisooriya, told how she had stayed down in Aberystwyth to focus on university work.

She said of Mr Bolster: ‘He cared a lot about making people feel special. I wish that I had gone to London with him.

Ms Edirisooriya explained that the pair had discussed marriage.

‘We spoke about our future life and future children, we even knew what song we would dance to at our wedding.’

She explained that evening: ‘Paddy texted me saying, “You’re my wife. All is right in the world, I was thinking we should just get a flat and be happy. Talk to you soon.”’

‘He said, “I have found the love of my life.” Paddy is incredibly special and words can’t do him justice.’

In a statement, Ben’s family said: ‘The very last thing he said to Jamie, who was also at the gig but had to leave early, was he loved him – something he would often say to all of us.

‘In our view, stepping onto that freight train that night was an out of character decision.

‘We believe that he has been depicted as some sort of reckless trainsurfer but that could not be further from the truth.’

‘He was a profoundly talented and creative mind.’

The family told how he had attended the prestigious Lambda and the Rada drama schools and was planning to play the ‘lead role in an upcoming short film and some advertising work.’

Mr Haddon-Cave was born in London and lived in Clerkenwell near his family.

Mr Bolster was a third-year student in countryside management and conservation at Aberystwyth University and grew up in Glengarriff in County Cork, Ireland.

The inquest continues.