The family of a man who fell to his death at the end of an Oasis concert at Wembley Stadium say he “slipped” and there are “questions about the barriers”.
Lee Claydon, a 45-year-old landscape gardener from Bournemouth in Dorset, had “everything going for him”, his father said.
Clive Claydon, 75, said his son was a “lovely bloke” and a “hard-working family man” who loved his own son.
“He had everything going for him. I am so devastated I have been to the doctor for tablets and everything to get over it,” Mr Claydon said.
Discussing how the tragedy may have happened, he said his son “doesn’t take drugs [and] may have had a couple of beers but who hadn’t there”?
He added: “People have said horrible things but it was just an accident.”
Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage for the first Wembley night of the Oasis reunion tour. Pic: Joshua Halling
Lee Claydon was at the gig with his brother and his brother’s children who did not see what happened.
He was found with “injuries consistent with a fall” and pronounced dead at the scene, the Metropolitan Police said.
Oasis said they were “shocked and saddened” to hear of his death.
“It must have been horrific,” Clive Claydon said.
“All I know is there was beer everywhere, it’s slippery, he slipped apparently, we do not know the rest of it, there’s questions about the barriers.”
The Met Police is asking for any witnesses, or anyone with mobile phone footage, to come forward.
A fundraising page has been set up.
Witness saw similar incident and asks ‘were lessons learned’?
A woman who saw a man falling from an upper tier at Wembley Stadium in June 2021 says the death of Lee Claydon makes her wonder whether lessons have been learned.
Stephanie Good, 39, said a man fell during a Euro 2020 match between England and Croatia.
He landed “right next to where we were” on the “stairwell between rows of seats”, she said.
Named as Jon, he reportedly survived but suffered two broken ankles, a fractured femur and fractured pelvis just before kick-off.
Ms Good said she tried to give feedback but was unable to and felt the “emergency response was really lacking”.
The NHS manager from east London said the tragic incident at the Oasis gig was “so similar” to what she witnessed that it made her wonder “were lessons learned”?
Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage for the first Wembley night of the Oasis reunion tour. Pic: Lewis Evans
During that incident, among stadium staff “nobody seemed to know what to do”, she told the Press Association.
She thinks the man may have been trying to attach a flag to the front of a stand and “somehow managed to fall straight over”.
She said: “They (staff) didn’t seem well-trained in terms of how to respond to a really big emergency.
“Their stewards were kind of paralysed a little bit by fear, or they just weren’t well trained and didn’t know how to call for paramedics.
“It was us who were sort of shouting at them that they needed to get some paramedics.
“The first person on the scene wasn’t a stadium paramedic or St John Ambulance. It was an off-duty firefighter who had seen the guy fall and ran down to just try and offer some help.”
Read more from Sky News:
Tommy Robinson bailed after arrest over alleged assault
Police should be ‘more transparent’ over suspects, home sec says
Regarding the follow-up, Ms Good said staff moved spectators to other seats but did not ask for witness statements.
She added: “They didn’t seek any input from people who’d seen the incident or the aftermath of it. They didn’t seem interested in speaking to anybody about it.
“I was a bit concerned, because I felt that the emergency response was really lacking.”
She then tried to get in touch to give feedback, but was unable to do so and did not receive a response to a message on social media, she said.
A Wembley spokesperson said: “Wembley Stadium operates to a very high health and safety standard, fully meeting legal requirements for the safety of spectators and staff, and is certified to and compliant with the ISO 45001 standard.
“We work very closely and collaboratively with all relevant event delivery stakeholders – including event owners, local authorities, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and the police – to deliver events to high standards of safety, security and service for everyone attending or working in the venue.”
