Portsmouth floodlight fault 'logged' before fatal shock Published duration 25 September 2019

image copyright Albert Xhediku image caption Taxi driver Albert Xhediku was playing five-a-side football with friends before the fatal electric shock

A leisure centre was warned of a serious electrical fault with a floodlight a month before a footballer was electrocuted, an inquest has heard.

Albert Xhediku, 34, received the fatal shock while climbing a fence at the Mountbatten leisure centre in Portsmouth in January 2016.

Another five-a-side player, Simon Tam, said he suffered an "extremely painful" shock in December 2015.

He said the leisure centre told him the problem would be logged.

'Severe pain'

Mr Xhediku touched the floodlight after retrieving a ball from a fenced-off area behind a locked gate, the inquest jury previously heard.

Mr Tam, a serving police officer, told the hearing he also climbed the fence after a ball was kicked out of play on 1 December.

He said: "I climbed on to the floodlights and, about 8ft off the ground, I received a really nasty electric shock which was extremely painful.

"It was hard even to speak because I was frozen due to the shock. It was severe muscular pain."

image caption Emergency services were called to the leisure centre after the fatal shock in 2016

PC Tam said he felt unwell but continued to play and reported the incident the following day.

He said: "I was very concerned that it should be shut down, particularly as when we left the pitch there were young children playing there."

PC Tam said he heard laughter on the phone as a member of staff went to fetch the duty manager, who said the incident would be logged.

Another footballer thought the floodlight had been deliberately electrified to deter children from climbing it, the inquest previously heard.

Ervin Balliu, a friend of Mr Xhediku, said he did not report the "mild shock" he received about a month before the taxi driver's death.

The leisure complex was managed at the time by Parkwood Community Leisure on behalf of Portsmouth City Council, the court heard.

The inquest continues.