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CCTV cameras which would have provided vital clues for police investigating how a construction worker fell to his death from a Highbury balcony had not been working for three years, the Tribune can reveal.
Police and residents have voiced their frustration at the faulty cameras, installed in 2006 to cover the entrances and communal walkways leading to Bruce Gordon’s home.
Mr Gordon, 35, died after falling from the second floor of Twyford House, in Elwood Street, where he was lodging, just before 1.30am on Wednesday last week. He landed directly outside the estate’s tenant management office (TMO).
Police say father-of-two Mr Gordon was drinking in the Myddleton Arms, in Canonbury, hours before his death, then drove home. He was in his flat with a woman minutes before his death but detectives do not know if they were alone.
If the CCTV cameras had been working police could have been able to see if anyone else visited the flat and if any witnesses were around.
Detectives from the serious crime division are investigating but say it is not a murder inquiry at the moment.
The Tribune has learn­ed that police raided Mr Gordon’s flat two weeks ago and discovered guns. A man was arrested and has remained in custody ever since.
Police would not confirm rumours that Mr Gordon may have been held over the balcony by his ankles. He was from Sussex but had been living in the flat for some months.
Caretaker Michael Chalkright said: “He was having a laugh and a joke in our office on Monday. He was a nice geezer, very polite and looked forward to the weekends when he could see his daughters.”
An inquest, opened at St Pancras Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, re­vealed Mr Gordon died from head and neck injuries. Investigating officer Detective Inspector Andy Yeats said: “This is not a murder inquiry so far. All options remain open, including the possibility it was a tragic accident or that he was deliberately pushed.”
No one has come forward to say they saw Mr Gordon fall, said DI Yeats, adding that CCTV cameras “would have been potentially hugely beneficial”.
He added: “CCTV is always an important asset in any investigation.”
CCTV cameras were installed by a former TMO in 2006 but haven’t worked properly since.
Housing manager Bob Edwards said: “The police were fuming that the CCTV wasn’t working. One camera was shining on the entrance. It would have been vital evidence. HfI [Homes for Islington] should either maintain this system or put in complete new systems.”
Barbara Chapman, chairwoman of the new TMO, said the committee had been asking HfI, which runs the borough’s housing stock, to help with new cameras for the past two years, although HfI denies this.
She said HfI agreed funds for new cameras but would not help with maintenance. Ms Chapman added: “It’s scandalous. They gave us permission to buy them but they are expensive to maintain.
“It’s pretty dark round here and dangerous. A man may have lost his life for the sake of a few quid for the upkeep of CCTV.”
A HfI spokesman said: “We advise TMOs to contact us when considering security precautions such as CCTV. In this instance, the previous manager of the TMO responsible for the installation had not sought advice and installed a faulty system.”
Anyone with information can call Islington police on 020 8345 1570.
ROISIN GADELRAB