A “much-loved” father was unlawfully killed after being restrained by a security guard at a North Yorkshire holiday park, a coroner has concluded.
Ryan Vincent was on holiday with his partner, Chloe Edwards, and their two children at Primrose Valley Holiday Park in Filey in May 2017.
On the night of May 22 the 22-year-old was stopped by security guards Tony Walpole and Peter Conway after driving back to the caravan where he was staying
The guards stopped him after they saw a speeding driver earlier that night, the inquest at Northallerton Coroner’s Court on Friday (January 26) heard.
Mr Vincent got out of his car and handed Mr Walpole the keys.
During the exchange Mr Walpole, who was 55 at the time, said he smelled alcohol on Mr Vincent’s breath and asked for the police to be called, the inquest heard.
A blood test showed the level of alcohol in Mr Vincent’s system at the time was over the legal limit for driving, the inquest heard.
After the exchange Mr Vincent ran off and Mr Walpole followed him, the hearing was told.
Mr Walpole caught up with him and, after a struggle, took Mr Vincent to ground and sat on his back with his knees either side of his body and his hands on his shoulders.
Coroner Jon Heath said Mr Vincent was restrained for at least 11 minutes but probably 16 minutes.
Witnesses told the inquest they heard Mr Vincent say he could not breathe multiple times while being restrained.
Anne Marie Nicholas, a charity worked who was staying in a caravan nearby, said she saw Mr Vincent laid face down flat on the ground and heard him say: “Please mate can you just let me turn round I can’t breathe.”
Mr Vincent was not turned over while being restrained, the inquest heard.
Mr Conway arrived on the scene and put his hand on Mr Vincent’s arm while his colleague continued to sit on him.
In a statement, Mr Walpole said he planned to keep Mr Vincent on the ground until police arrived and did not intent to hurt him.
Police officers arrived on the scene and Mr Vincent was unconscious.
An officer carried out CPR on Mr Vincent but could not resuscitate him so called for an ambulance.
Paramedics performed CPR but were also unable to resuscitate him.
Mr Vincent was taken to Scarborough hospital by ambulance and died four days later from bronchopneumonia after suffering a cardiac arrest.
The coroner said he was satisfied the criteria for gross negligence manslaughter had been met.
Both security guards held Security Industry Authority licenses at the time.
They attended four-day training sessions but did not complete a physical intervention course as it was not a mandatory requirement, the inquest heard.
This element has since been made mandatory by the Security Industry Authority.
Speaking after the inquest, a spokesperson for Haven, which runs Primrose Valley Holiday Park, said: “Our deepest sympathies are with the friends and family of Ryan Vincent.
"We have provided our full assistance throughout the investigation and our thoughts remain with everyone affected.”
'amazing father, partner, son and brother' - family tribute
At the time of Mr Vincent’s death his family released a statement which said: "Words cannot express the level of grief and loss we as a family feel.
“Ryan was very much loved and will be so missed by his family and friends.
“He was a very family orientated man and an amazing father, partner, son and brother.
“He loved life and lived it to the full."
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