British tourist, 54, dies months after horror balcony collapse which killed fellow holidaymaker

A British tourist has died months after a balcony fall in Spain which killed a fellow holidaymaker.

Nicholas Thomas, 54, from Cwmbran, Wales, was one of two men who plummeted to the ground while holidaying in Lanzarote after a wooden banister collapsed at around 1.30am.

Darren Silcox, 56, also from Cwmbran, was pronounced dead two hours after the fall at the Galeon Playa Apartments in the resort town of Costa Teguise.

At an inquest held at Gwent Coroner's Court, coroner Rose Farmer said Mr Thomas fell between 15 and 22 feet.

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He was quickly taken to Dr Jose Molina Orosa Hospital for initial treatment, before being flown back to the UK in November.

There, he was taken to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and next taken to Grange University Hospital.

Next he was transferred to University Hospital in Llandough, but died on July 10.

Spanish police are still investigating the incident to determine if inadequate upkeep or safety measures played a role in what happened.

Proceedings were then adjourned until April 14 next year.

At an inquest for father-of-two Mr Silcox, Mrs Farmer said he died from a "traumatic brain injury due to a fall, skull fractures and skull lacerations".

Local county councillor David Daniels told the BBC that Mr Silcox was a "lovely guy".

"Darren and his wife were at the heart of the community and had ran the shops for many decades," he said.

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"Everybody who has grown up in the area would know the shops and we called in there every day after school.

"He was very kind to us and he was very generous."

Another woman, paying tribute to Mr Silcox, said: "He was always so lovely to speak to in the shop, this really saddened me when I saw the news."

It comes after another British tourist - described as the "biggest personality in any room" died after falling from a balcony in Tenerife.

Harrison Hanley was staying at the Parque Santiago 2 apartment when the tragedy took place in April.

The 20-year-old swimming instructor from West Derby, Liverpool, was found by a maintenance worker on the morning of April 25 at the hotel.

An inquest held in the Gerard Majella Courthouse in Liverpool has ruled Mr Hanley's death as an accident.

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