Worker was crushed to death by pop-up urinal when it ‘dropped quite suddenly’

The man has been named as Kevin Holding (Picture: Twitter/KetoCancerQueen)

The man killed by a falling hydraulic urinal in London’s West End last month was crushed after becoming trapped underneath it while carrying out repair works, an inquest has been told.

Kevin Holding, 60, died at the scene in Cambridge Circus after the pop-up public toilet ‘dropped quite suddenly’ on January 27.

An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned at Inner West London Coroner’s Court on Thursday.

Police said CCTV footage captured the moment the urinal fell.

Firefighters spent more than two hours working to free the worker (Picture: Twitter/KetoCancerQueen)

A police tent at Cambridge Circus on the junction between Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road in London (Picture: PA)

The court heard Mr Holding, of Beckenham, southeast London, was a contractor employed by Hi-tech Washroom Solutions Limited, the BBC reports.

He began work sometime between 10am and 10.30am and was almost finished working on the toilet when it dropped just before 1pm.

The inquest was told emergency services were scrambled to the scene within minutes, but a vehicle to help lift the urinal was delayed and did not arrive for another two hours.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of Mr Holding’s death as compression asphyxia. He was identified by his Oyster Card.

Senior Coroner Professor Fiona Wilcox offered her ‘very sincere condolences’ to his partner and three children, who attended the hearing.

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An inquest heard a vehicle to help lift the urinal was delayed by two hours.