Great Barr paralympian loses his payout bid over injury

Ryan Cockbill, aged 22, who was a London 2012 torchbearer and Paralympic competitor, was refused the payout in London's High Court.

The accident happened at a garden party when Ryan, from Great Barr, was 16. The father who was supervising the party provided alcohol at the bash for under-age guests.

Ryan had been attending a post-GCSE party in July 2006 at the home of former primary school headmaster David Riley and had been invited by Mr Riley's daughter Sarah.

Ryan drank a can of Scrumpy Jack cider and two bottles of beer, changed into borrowed trunks and said "watch me go" before attempting a "dive or belly flop" into the paddling pool. He broke his neck, leaving him in a wheelchair.

Mr Riley had laid on 12 bottles of Budweiser and 12 of Vodka Kick and had not interfered when young guests brought their own with them, the court heard. Ryan sued his friend's father and claimed compensation for the injuries.

Barrister Geoffrey Tattersall QC told the court Mr Riley should have "stopped alcohol being brought in" and done more to prevent "boisterousness". It was also claimed he exposed his guests to a risk of serious injury.

But Mr Timothy Horlock QC, for Mr Riley, said there was nothing wrong with responsible teenagers being allowed to drink modest amounts of alcohol under supervision. He said Mr Riley had tried to calm things down when he thought the boys were getting a bit boisterous by telling them to eat food from the barbecue.

The presiding judge Mr Justice Bean rejected the argument Mr Riley had been to blame for the accident. "The submission that allowing the use of a paddling pool at a party attended by 16-year-old friends of the occupier's children of itself creates a foreseeable risk of significant injury or justifies a formal risk assessment is in my view quite unrealistic," he said. "Nor do I consider that the fact that the guests were allowed to consume modest quantities of alcohol made the risk of significant injury foreseeable."