Man dies after falling from Fife Christmas tree

14 December 2018, 16:08

A man has died after falling from a town's Christmas tree.

Emergency services were called when people leaving nearby nightclub Kitty's found the injured man in a street in Kirkcaldy, Fife, early on Friday.

He was taken to hospital but later died.

Police have cordoned off the 12ft tree outside Kirkcaldy Town House.

Mario Caira, Kitty's director, saw the man fall from the tree on to the grassy area below.

He said: "He'd climbed the tree, he was up in the tree holding on to the top.

"When he fell I thought he was actually winded.

"I went over to check on the guy and when he wasn't coming round I phoned an ambulance.

"It's just a tragedy. Any time of year is bad but this time of year is even worse and falling from a Christmas tree is probably even worse.

"Our condolences go to him and his family."

Mr Caira said the man, who looked to be in his 50s, appeared to be by himself and had not been in Kitty's that night.

He believes the man's death was a freak accident, adding: "I'm not medically trained in terms of what happened when he fell but I reckon you could do that a thousands of times and you would walk away."

Councillor Neil Crooks, convener of the Kirkcaldy Area Committee, said: "This is a tragic thing to have happened, especially at this time of year.

"Our thoughts are with the family at this time."

A Police Scotland spokesman said: "Police in Fife were called to a report of an unresponsive man in the Hunter Street area of Kirkcaldy around 2.55am on Friday December 14.

"The man was treated at the scene then conveyed to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy by the Scottish Ambulance Service where he later sadly passed away.

"The death is being treated as non-suspicious and inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.

"A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal."