9:47am Friday 19th March 2010
By Will Carson
FRIENDS of a Hampshire man who collapsed at a party and later died did not immediately call an ambulance because they thought he was just drunk, an inquest heard.
Martyn Duffey collapsed outside a party where he had been celebrating a friend’s birthday after being hit by another reveller, Southampton Coroner’s Court was told.
The 20-year-old was left unconscious - but instead of calling for an ambulance straight away, friends decided he should be taken home to his parents because he was too drunk.
Minutes later Martyn died, just metres from his home.
The court heard support worker Martyn, known to friends as Munch, had been at friend Liam Hatch’s house in Blackfield for a party when trouble broke out in the driveway in the early hours of December 20, 2008.
Partygoer Christopher Dean told the court he had hit Martyn, believing he had had a sexual encounter with his girlfriend earlier in the evening.
Mr Dean, who said everyone at the party had had “a significant amount to drink”, added: “It was more of a heavy slap.
“Martyn stumbled back and put his hand on a car. I then turned around and went back inside.”
Mr Dean said when he went back outside the house in Viking Close Martyn was lying on the ground unconscious.
“We had thought about calling an ambulance but we decided it would be better to take him home to his mum,”
he said.
“None of us believed he was seriously injured at that point.”
Fighting back tears, friend Richard Pender told the court how he had pleaded for someone to call an ambulance for Martyn.
“He was not receptive to anything. He would not open his eyes.
“I did not have a phone on me otherwise I would have [phoned an ambulance] myself. No-one was listening to me.”
Liam’s mother Tracey Hatch, who had spent most of the party upstairs in the house with her husband Stephen, told the court she decided to drive Martin to his house in Cedar Road, Hythe.
She said: “As far as I was concerned he had had too much to drink.
“I was told he was going to walk home and I decided the best thing was to remove him and get him home.”
When they arrived, Mrs Hatch realised Martyn was seriously ill and called 999 while Mr Dean attempted to resuscitate him.
Retained firefighter David Ball, who lives in Cedar Road, told the court he had helped out trying to save Martyn.
He added: “My initial thoughts were that he was not alive.”
Martyn was rushed to Southampton General Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Mr Dean was later arrested on suspicion of Martyn’s murder but proceedings against him were dropped by police in April last year.
More than 40 friends and family packed the court yesterday for the first of a two-day inquest into his death.
Proceeding.
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