Barnoldswick man, 63, falls from Nelson car park (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Barnoldswick man, 63, falls from Nelson car park

11:10am Monday 16th January 2012 in Barnoldswick By Vanessa Cornall, Reporter

A CALL for a security fence at a 'suicide hot spot' has been made after a man fell to his death.

Police said the 63-year-old man, from Barnoldswick, fell from Nelson's Pendle Rise car park on Saturday.

He is the eighth person to plunge to their death from the building in the past 10 years.

Coun Eileen Ansar has called on the owners to install a tall mesh security fence after Pendle Council earmarked £40,000 from its capital programme to implement the scheme before the centre went into administration in November 2010.

She said: “It is devastating to hear that another person has died after falling off the car park.

“The council had allocated £40,000 to install tall mesh fences on the top level of the car park, but because Pendle Rise is in the hands of receivers nothing can be done.

“There is no doubt in my mind that if the fencing had been installed 12 to 18 months ago, as originally planned, then this death and maybe one or two more could have been prevented.

“It is imperative now that something is done quickly to prevent more lives being lost.”

Police were called to the scene shortly after 5.30pm by shocked witnesses.

They are appealing for anyone who saw a dark coloured Mercedes A Class collide with the man after the fall in Sagar Street, at the junction with Broadway. The driver of the car stopped at the scene.

The road was closed for more than four hours while investigators recovered the man.

Details of the death are being passed to East Lancashire coroner, Richard Taylor.

Coun Ansar is now urging the council to resume talks with the receivers CB Richard Ellis so that work can be carried out.

She said: “If we are going to prevent this site becoming even more of a suicide hot spot than it already is, we need to act sooner rather than later.

“I hope this latest incident will force the owners of the shopping centre to sit up and realise something must be done.”

A police spokesman said: “I urge anyone who saw the man fall on Saturday to come forward and help us work out what has happened.

“We are looking for the driver of a dark coloured A Class Mercedes who was at the Sagar Street junction with Broadway when the incident at 5.30pm on Saturday.”

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

A spokesman from the Samaritans said: “Samaritans receives over 2.5 million calls a year.

"Samaritans is available for anyone feeling down, depressed or anxious. Volunteers can be contacted 24/7 to offer confidential support by phone: 08457 90 90 90, email jo@samaritans.org.”