Bannister slide ends in death

A 25-year-old man is dead after falling two storeys while trying to slide down a bannister at a Gisborne pub.

A witness described Tauranga fisherman Blair Robinson's death as a gut-wrenching accident.

Mr Robinson was drinking with friends at the Meetings Irish Ale House in Gisborne late on Friday night, when he slipped over the bannister rail and fell two storeys to the ground.

He was admitted to Gisborne Hospital where he died shortly after-wards.

Detective Wayne Beattie said yesterday he assumed Mr Robinson died from internal injuries.

Pub owner Sean Liley said alcohol had not been a factor in what happened.

"[It was] just a freak, freak stupid accident and it's gut-wrenching," he said.

He told the Herald on Sunday that Mr Robinson was with about five or six friends - a "good bunch" of young guys.

He said his staff were still coming to terms with the death.

"It's a total and utter accident that has come just totally out of the blue. It's pretty horrific for a guy to lose his life like that. It's just nuts."

Mr Liley said Mr Robinson, a Gisborne man who had shifted to the Bay of Plenty, was home visiting friends.

Mr Robinson's aunt, Mary Croskery, told the newspaper her nephew lived for and loved fishing.

"It was his passion, it really was. From when he was five years old, he was taught to fish by his dad."

Mr Robinson held national titles for game fishing.

His parents, Christina and Neil, were expected to arrive back in New Zealand last night from London.

- NZPA