Coroner warns of a 'significant risk of future deaths' at Guildford car parks after a boy, 17, became the fifth person to fall from them since 2020

Published 30 October 2026, 18:48

• Surrey assistant coroner Susan Ridge found most safety fixes recommended in 2020 were dropped because of the cost.
• York Road Car Park's barrier is just 3ft 1in high, below today's 3ft 7in minimum, but older car parks are exempt.
• Children and skateboarders can wander in day and night, with patchy CCTV and no guards on site after dark.

A coroner has warned of a 'significant risk of future deaths' at Guildford's multi-storey car parks after a 17-year-old became the fifth person to fall from them since 2020, with safety improvements shelved because of cost.

Thomas Combeer died in the early hours of 8 March 2025 after walking into York Road Car Park in Guildford, which was open around the clock with no barriers to entry.

At around 1.50am he made his way up the car park.

At 1.55am he fell to his death, sustaining head and torso injuries.

On the level from which he fell, investigators recovered his jacket, tablet and keys.

The inquest returned a conclusion of suicide.

Minutes before he died, Thomas sent two farewell messages — one to his family's WhatsApp group saying he loved them, and one to his friends.

His parents, Andy and Liz Combeer, said: "If he had walked up to the top of that car park and found that it was enclosed, he would still be alive."

Toxicology found no suspicious circumstances.

Thomas's alcohol level was below the legal driving limit and no drugs were present in his system.

According to the prevention of future deaths report issued by Surrey Assistant Coroner Susan Ridge on 7 August 2026, there have been at least four deaths from York Road Car Park and one other Guildford Borough Council multi-storey car park since 2020, making Thomas the fifth fatality.

A safety report produced in 2020 recommended measures including raising barrier heights, but Ridge found that the majority of those recommendations were not carried out because of the cost.

The barrier at York Road Car Park stands at just 3ft 1in — measured from the bottom of the parapet wall to the top of the handrail — below the 3ft 7in minimum required under current building regulations.

However, because the car park was built before those rules came into force in 2013, it is not legally required to be upgraded.

Ridge flagged this as a national concern, noting that building regulations are not retrospective, meaning many older multi-storey car parks across the country may similarly fall short.

The report also identifies a conflict between two sets of guidance — Building Regulations Approved Document K and the British Standards Code of Practice for barriers — which are unclear about where the measurement of a barrier should begin, whether from floor level or from the top of the parapet wall.

Beyond the barriers, Ridge's report sets out a pattern of conditions that leave the car parks dangerously unsupervised.

Members of the public, including children, have "unfettered access" to the car parks at any hour.

The upper levels of York Road Car Park are popular with skateboarders drawn by the higher ceilings.

Security staff are not stationed at individual car parks at night but operate from a central control office, and CCTV coverage across the sites is limited.

Ridge directed her report to the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and to the Chief Executive of Guildford Borough Council, both of whom are legally required to respond by 2 October 2026.

A copy was also sent to the Chief Executive of the British Parking Association.

"In my opinion unless action is taken to address the above concerns then there is a significant risk of future deaths," Ridge wrote, "and I believe each of you have the power to take such action."