Crushed teacher left Brighton pub with girl (From The Argus)

Crushed teacher left Brighton pub with girl

8:00am Thursday 16th July 2009 in News By Ben Parsons, Crime Reporter

TRAGIC: Scott Williams

A teacher left a city centre pub with a girl a few hours before he was crushed to death in the back of a bin lorry.

Detectives investigating the death of Scott Williams were yesterday trying to trace the young woman, who was one of the last people to see the 35-year-old alive.

They believe the New Zealander slept in a large wheelie bin and met his death when he and the rubbish were emptied into a dustcart.

The PE teacher’s body was found on a rubbish tip in Newhaven early on Monday morning.

He had come to Brighton from his home in Wembley for the weekend with a friend.

After visiting his brother, who lives in the city, he met up with the friend again and went drinking in the city centre.

They split up when his friend left the Black Lion pub in Black Lion Street, Brighton, at about 1am.

Police said Mr Williams left the pub with a woman.

People at the bar described the rugby coach as very tall and very well built. They said he did not seem to be staggering or obviously drunk.

Detectives have identified him on CCTV images taken outside the Thistle Brighton Hotel, where the woman was seen getting into a taxi at 3am.

He is believed to have bedded down in a large bin to shelter from heavy rain because he did not know how to get back to his friend’s house.

Detective Chief Inspector Graham Pratt, of Sussex Police’s major crime branch, said: “If anyone has information which may assist us in establishing what happened to Scott it would be much appreciated.

”It is not a murder inquiry. We are trying to piece together his movements for the coroner and for his friends and family.”

Police have notified the Health and Safety Executive about the case.

Concerns have been raised over safety checks carried out on bins in the wake of Mr Williams’s death and similar cases, reported in The Argus, where people narrowly escaped earlier this year.

It is thought Mr Williams was planning to settle permanently in Britain after starting a new relationship.

Yesterday a schoolmate was quoted as saying: “He had just sorted out his British citizenship.

“He was going to hang around. He just started seeing a girl in the last few months, and that was one of the things keeping him there.

"He was quite happy where he was - he did not want to come home."

Anyone with information about Mr Williams’s movements is asked to call Sussex Police on 0845 6070999.