Holidaymaker died in fall from hotel balcony

A MAN died on an all-inclusive holiday after falling from a hotel balcony, an inquest heard.

- LUCY JOHN

Gareth James Cotter, 29, had spent the day and evening of September 21, 2023, drinking at the Zodiac hotel in Hammamet, Tunisia, before he fell and sustained unsurvivable injuries.

An inquest at Pontypridd Coroner's Court on June 18 heard how Mr Cotter's partner found him attempting to climb back over on to their fourth-floor balcony before he lost his grip.

Gareth's mother Alison Cotter described her son as "hardworking" and a talented sportsman. In a statement read to the court by coroner Gavin Knox, she described how, as a boy, he represented his school in rugby, football and cross-country and had hoped to become a professional footballer until he sustained injuries.

She said he had qualified as a plumber and had established a successful business, which was booked up with customers ready for his return home from the tragic holiday.

Mr Cotter, of Gelliwion Road in Maesycoed, Pontypridd, had been on holiday with his partner Kirsty Aubrey and members of her family.

Giving evidence in person, she said that Mr Cotter had seemed "emotional" while sober the day before the incident occurred.

She described him as "tearful" and said he told her how much he loved her and appreciated members of her family being there for him.