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News Triathlon death ‘a tragic accident’


FIT young man Paul Gallihawk drowned taking part in Ocean Lake charity event, a Maidstone inquest heard.


The 34-year-oldwas a keen sports-


man who regularly played football. Hehad taken part in a half marathon and other running events. He had been training for his first triathlon at Leybourne Lakes, onAu- gust bank holidayweekend last year and, although nervous,was looking forward to taking part. Mr Gallihawk, who lived with his partner Hayley Wright in Postmill Drive, Tovil,wanted to raise money for King’s College Hospital, where his father Malcolm had been treated the previous year. Hayley raised the alarm when Mr Gallihawk failed to emerge from the water at the end of the 750-metre swim in the Ocean Lake Triathlon onAugust 29, 2015. Asearch of the lake with boats and


scuba divers failed to find Mr Galli- hawk, who worked for a sales re- cruitment company. The Kent Fire and Rescue Service


joined the search, along with volun- teers from Kent Search and Rescue, but itwas not until 9.30am on Mon- day,August 31, that MrGallihawk’s


Man stabbed


POLICE are investigating a stab- bing in Aylesford. Officerswere called to the fight in Pratling Street and launched an air hunt after a man was found with stab wounds to his arm and chest. The injured man, thought to be in


his 20s,was taken to King’s College Hospital in London, and has since been discharged. The National Police Air Service helicopter circled the area for some time in an unsuccessful effort to find a man, believed to be in his 30s, who had left the scene. Police say a separate domestic in-


cidentwas reported at the property involving one other person shortly before the reported assault and that enquiries are ongoing.


Sports plan


AMAJOR extension and refurbish- ment has been proposed at Cob- down Sports and Social Club, Ditton, including more squash courts, a gym and dance room. The scheme, which has been sub- mitted to Tonbridge and Malling Council, would include a changing room block providing facilities for four teams and officials, as well as toilets for spectators and a kitchen space with serving hatch. The plan for the Station Road complex also involves the provi- sion of two 3G pitches.


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for 10 years and took daily medica- tion to keep the condition at bay, the inquest heard.Healso suffered from Crohn’s disease but this was un- likely to have contributed to his death, said Dr Rouse. The inquest heard that therewere


seven kayakers watching the group of 108 swimmers, aswell as a safety boat with a crew of two on board. One man was pulled from the


Paul Gallihawk


bodywas discovered by a dive team brought in from Norfolk. Mr Gallihawk’s body was found


seven metres deep in the lake, 87 metres from the start of the race. Pathologist Dr David Rouse found


the cause of death to be immersion. Therewere no marks or signs of in- jury on Mr Gallihawk’s body and therewas nothing to suggest he had been injured or suffered a fit. Mr Gallihawk did suffer from epilepsy, but had not had a seizure


water after getting into difficulties, but nobody sawMrGallihawk,who was swimming with the less-confi- dent contingent, disappear. He had been suffering from dizzy


spells and, a few weeks before the triathlon, consultant neurologist Dr Jonathan Chan foundMrGallihawk may have suffered a vasovagal (fainting) episode and advised him to increase his salt andwater intake, particularly while hewas in training. Dr Rouse told the inquest: “If Mr Gallihawk had suffered a fainting episode, it would not be evident from the postmortem examination.” Although Mr Gallihawk was not an experienced open water swim-


mer, thewaterwas not cold enough to cause hypothermia and he was wearing awet suit. Dr Rouse said: “Unfortunately, the


post mortem only gives us possibili- ties, rather than probabilities.” Mr Gallihawk’s parents Malcolm


and Linda, who attended the in- quest,were concerned at the amount of weed in the lake, but coroner Pa- tricia Harding assured them the weeds were well below the level of the swimmers, with six metres of clearwater above. Following the inquest, Mr Galli-


hawk Snr, from Leeds, said he felt questions remained unanswered. “It’s not the outcome we were hoping for,” he said. The coroner said she was unable


to determine how exactly Mr Galli- hawk had drowned but recorded a verdict of accidental death. She said: “The death of this young,


fit man was a tragic accident. How- ever, Ido not have concerns that any further deaths may occur. It was a very great tragedy that he died the way that he did.”


Fear for health


centre’s future CONCERNS are growing that a new health centre may stand idle on a 700-home estate in Leybourne because local GPs are too stretched to take on more patients. Taylor Wimpey, which expects


Boxer’s pledge to Becs


SNODLAND’s unbeaten welterweight boxer George Hennon has pledged a quarter of his next fight purse to a fundraising appeal for the family of a friend who has cancer. Hennon (21) will donate the sizeable chunk of the winnings from his third professional match to The Becs Factor, a fund which formed to enable Larkfield mum RebeccaWatts to take her two young children, Alfie and Mason, to Euro Disney to make memories. He said Rebecca (41) was the


aunt of his friend Shelby. “As I’ve been in and out of her


house since secondary school, I’ve always known Becs and she has come to support me in my fights.” Hennon, of Malling Road, is


looking to extend his winning run to three in his debut at the York Hall boxing venue in Bethnal Green, east London, on April 29. He said of Rebecca: “She just


keeps on fighting and looks so well, it’s like nothing phases her, she’s that brave and she inspires me every day. So this cause is really close to my heart. I’ll give a minimum of 25% of my purse and I’ll be looking to give more if I can. I’ll also have her logo on my shorts and T-shirts to promote the fundraiser. There’s a 49-seater coach taking my support from Maidstone up to the York Hall for my fight and my mum will take collections on the day as well.” To donate or find out more, visit www.becsfactor.org.


the Leybourne Chase practice to be finished byAugust, says it has con- tacted 60 surgeries to see if any are willing to take up the tenancy, but has received just one inquiry. The NHSWest Clinical Commis- sioning Group refused to be drawn on whether it will intervene if there are no takers as the population in the area continues to grow. Aspokesman said the developers


would need to make an approach and an assessment would be needed before any decision could be made as to whether or not the NHS could or would make use of the Hawley Drive health centre. Taylor Wimpey, which built the surgery as a condition of its plan- ning permission, says it has been trying for a year to find a tenant. Aspokesman said: “Despite con- tacting more than 60 practices and the NHS,we have yet to receive an appropriate level of interest.” It has taken on a specialist prop-


erty agent to market the healthcare facility to NHS and private health- care providers across the area and says it expects interest to increase as the facility nears completion and as the development progresses.


Malling April 2016 31


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