Chef killed after he fell on a wine glass and bled to death on family holiday

A chef was killed after he fell on his wine glass while on holiday, an inquest heard .

Father-of-two Sam Sommerville, 36, bled to death after the glass he was holding pierced his neck.

Mr Sommerville was on a seaside caravan park holiday, near Withernsea, East Yorks, with his family when the accident happened on August 15, this year.

An inquest into his death at Hull Coroner’s Court heard how he had been staying at his father and stepmother’s caravan at Sand Le Mere Caravan Park in Tunstall, where he was visiting with his wife and children.

Giving an emotional account to the court, Mr Sommerville’s father Peter said: “His glass was empty. I just heard a big bang and then I saw him on the floor.

"I went straight to him and just tried to stop the bleeding.

“It seemed like ages and ages and ages before the ambulance turned up. I did all I could to save him.”

Mr Sommerville, who was originally from Hull but later lived and worked in London as a chef, had been drinking during the afternoon of the Saturday as he enjoyed the family occasion.

Terrible accident: Tunstall Sand-Le-Mere Caravan Park, where Sam tragically died

As they prepared to leave the caravan at about 7pm for a children’s entertainment show at the park’s on-site clubhouse, Mr Sommerville cut his eyebrow so stayed behind with his father and stepmother to clean himself up, while the rest went on ahead.

It was sometime later, when he stood up from the sofa and fell forwards. He suffered a cut to his throat, which bled heavily.

Despite desperate attempts by his father and paramedics to save him, Mr Sommerville was later pronounced dead at the scene.

In a statement read out during proceedings, Mr Sommerville’s widow, Amy, described her husband as “ambitious” and that he had been interviewed for a promotion at work just two days before he died.

She said: “He was extremely excited about having reached the ‘cook off’ stage (of the job application) and was busy learning new recipes,” she said.

“He was always in the gym and had a personal trainer. He had a clean bill of health.”

Recording a conclusion of accidental death, Coroner Rosemary Baxter said: “Having heard all the evidence I’m satisfied beyond the balance of probabilities that this death was due to a tragic accident, namely the deceased fell in the caravan on the date that he died.”