A PUB could be prosecuted for failing to report an accident after a customer suffered severe brain damage when he fell down steps into the beer cellar.

Robert Osborne, 39, has been in intensive care at Kings College Hospital, London, since the accident.

It is feared he may be permanently paralysed because of his injuries.

The self-employed painter and decorator was drinking at the Freshfield Inn, in Freshfield Road, Brighton, on October 31 when he fell down the steps.

Mr Osborne, of Findon Road, Whitehawk, is thought to have opened the cellar door by mistake on his way to the lavatory.

He was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital after the fall and then transferred to a specialist head injuries unit at Kings College Hospital, where he needed surgery to remove a blood clot from beside his brain.

His cousin Gary Osborne, also 39, said: "The nurses said it would be a miracle for him to pull through and if he did pull through he would need 24-hour constant care.

"He might not be able to talk, he might not be able to walk, or anything like that."

Although an ambulance was called to the scene the pub did not formally report the accident to the authorities. Brighton and Hove Council's environmental health officers, who enforce health and safety laws in pubs, are investigating.

A spokesman said: "Failing to report a serious incident such as this to environmental health is an offence.

"We are looking at prosecuting for this.

"We understand there were no direct witnesses and it is too early to say whether we will be in a position to prosecute for negligence."

Mr Osborne had recently moved to Whitehawk from the Bates Estate, off Lewes Road.

The landlord of the Freshfield Inn would not comment when contacted by the Argus.

Staff at Kings College Hospital say Mr Osborne is in a stable condition.

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