'Vulnerable' woman was ignored by passers-by as she laid fatally hurt in Blackpool street

A formerly homeless woman who suffered fatal head injuries after falling in a Blackpool street was ignored by passers-by.
Linda McKenna in her youthLinda McKenna in her youth
Linda McKenna in her youth

More than a dozen people walked past Linda McKenna, 44, as she stumbled around and repeatedly fell over in the street as gale force winds battered the resort in the early hours of March 1.

She was picked up on town centre CCTV but an operator assumed she was drunk and told an inquest he did not want to “waste resources” by calling 999.

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At 1.30am on March 1, Miss McKenna left her mother Sue’s house and was seen on CCTV walking “with purpose”through Blackpool town centre. She disappeared behind some bins and emerged 12 minutes later in an intoxicated state.

Linda with Amazing Graze founder Mark ButcherLinda with Amazing Graze founder Mark Butcher
Linda with Amazing Graze founder Mark Butcher

She then staggered through the streets, where she suffered several falls partially due Storm Jorge, which was raging at the time, the inquest was told.

Eventually three people stopped to help her, and she was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in an unconscious state at around 4am. She died from her injuries the following day.

A postmortem by Dr Mark Sissons said the cause of death was a brain hemorrhage due to blunt force trauma.

There was evidence of drugs in her system.

Linda McKenna in her youthLinda McKenna in her youth
Linda McKenna in her youth
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Handing down a conclusion of accidental death, coroner Alan Wilson said: “It was a noticeably windy night. The footage shows Linda walking with purpose; then she goes behind some wheely bins. She then emerges and walks into a wall.

“There is a clear difference between before she went behind the wheely bins and afterwards. She has taken some substance that has left her intoxicated pretty quickly.”

Referring to the person who saw her while monitoring CCTV cameras in the area, he added: ”Looking at the footage there is a point after Linda comes within the view of the cameras that he zooms in on her, and that is within a few minutes of him becoming aware of Linda.

“On the one hand it is unclear whether she would have suffered a significant head injury from these examples of CCTV footage.

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“On the other hand, she is on the floor for a long period of time. It seems to me that anyone watching her would absolutely have a cause for ringing an ambulance or the

police. She seems to be vulnerable.

“However, it doesn’t appear to me that even if there had been an earlier call to emergency services that it would have been a different outcome for Linda.”

He said he would write to the firm who employed the man, urging bosses to remind staff that they are able to call 999 when seeing someone in a vulnerable state.

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