Man dies in 'bizarre' clothes airer incident

A British man has died after being suffocated by a clothes airer.

Father-of-two Brian Depledge, 38, died after falling backwards onto the contraption, causing the drier to collapse and trap his head between the rails, leading to a "cat's cradle effect" as he attempted to free himself.

The coroner described his unfortunate death as "probably rarer than being struck by lightning or a meteorite".

Coroner Prof. Paul Marks, recording a verdict of accidental death at the hearing, said: "I have never come across a case like this. Brian's was an untimely death caused by the most bizarre set of circumstances - probably rarer than being struck by lightning or struck by a meteorite. It's an extremely rare cause of death."