A SIKH man was killed after he fell from a great height crushing the right side of his body, an inquest heard. Shana Singh, of no fixed address, was found bruised and bleeding on the Chadwell Heath industrial estate in the yard of Emperor shop-fitters Ltd

A SIKH man was killed after he fell from a great height crushing the right side of his body, an inquest heard.

Shana Singh, of no fixed address, was found bruised and bleeding on the Chadwell Heath industrial estate in the yard of Emperor shop-fitters Ltd on December 20 last year.

An ambulance was called by the company owner, Tarsem Singh Bains, who says that he and one of his employees moved the injured man inside to keep him warm.

Paramedics arrived and took Shana Singh to Queen's Hospital, Romford, staff there called the police.

Officers went to the site in Chadwell Heath where Shana Singh was found and questioned the owner, Mr Bains.

They found a large amount of blood under Mr Bains' car and evidence of water like someone had tried to clean the blood up.

Mr Bains told the court that he had never seen Shana Singh until the evening he found him near death in his company's yard.

Police were only ever able to trace one witness, Davinder Singh, who was interviewed once and then never found again.

Davinder Singh told DC Ghatta Aureh, of Barking and Dagenham CID, that he and Shana Singh went to the Sikh Temple in Barking on the morning of the fall.

He said they waited outside there at around 6.30am as they usually did and that a man came to pick them up if there was any work for them that day.

According to Davinder Singh, he, Shana Singh and two other men were chosen to go and work on Chadwell Heath industrial estate.

They were driven there and told to start work putting thin strips of metal about 10ft long into containers that were around 12ft high.

Davinder Singh told DC Aureh that he stayed at the bottom of the ladder and Shana Singh was at the top.

He said he did not see Shana Singh fall but heard a thud and saw him lying there with blood coming from his nose and mouth.

Mr Bains maintained when asked that he did not know Shana Singh and that he did not employ him at his company.

None of this evidence could be tested at Walthamstow Coroner's Court last week so Coroner Dr Elizabeth Stearns recorded an open verdict.

Dr Benjamin Swift, who carried out the post mortem on Shana Singh, said he died from head and chest injuries, most likely the result of a fall from a height.