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BBC cameraman who jumped from Aylesbury’s Bourg Walk Bridge ‘dreaded future’ with Parkinson’s
BBC cameraman Ingo Prosser
A distinguished BBC cameraman who jumped to his death from a town centre bridge spent his final hours in good spirits with a friend, an inquest has heard.
Ingo Prosser, 61, of Welbeck Avenue, Bedgrove, had lunch at The Doghouse Inn at Broughton with fellow cameraman Hume Fairholme, before asking to be dropped off at Aylesbury Train Station.
He threw himself from the nearby Bourg Walk Bridge 15 minutes later. It is thought that Parkinson’s disease and increasing immobility may have contributed to his actions on April 3 this year, which coroner Richard Hulett described as ‘sad and impulsive’.
Mr Fairholme said: “Everything seemed to be normal.
“I got to Ingo’s at around midday and he suggested we go to the pub. He told me about his holiday plans, we naturally finished our lunch and left. He then asked me to take him into town. I asked if he wanted me to wait, but he said he had a bus pass and even joked about it.”
Father-of-two Mr Prosser helped expose the atrocities in Tiananmen Square when he filmed the Chinese army opening fire on student protesters.
The popular cameraman attended his retirement party just four days before his death.
His wife Fionnuala said he may have viewed his retirement as the end of his ‘usefulness’.
“We know he was dreading the future because of his increasing disability. On the other hand, he’d planned to resume his photographic career and his calendar was full, even up until now,” she told the inquest at Wycombe today (25/9).
She added that a psychologist had told her Parkinson’s can increase impulsiveness, and so may have played a part.
Steven Dunning, the only known eyewitness, said he spotted Mr Prosser on the Bourg Walk as he waited beneath the bridge with his girlfriend.
He said: “The man put his hands on the railings and flipped himself vertically upwards. He then let go, and I had to look away. The next thing I saw was him lying on the pavement below. I saw no blood or injuries.”
Mr Hulett returned a narrative verdict of having ‘impulsively jumped from the bridge’.
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Weather for Aylesbury
Saturday 25 May 2013
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Sunny spells
Temperature: 5 C to 15 C
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