A 22-year-old sales broker fell to his death from a rooftop in Soho after a solo pub crawl, an inquest has heard. Ryley Harbord plunged from a building on Brewer Street shortly after 2am on May 3, 2025, having broken into a nearby courtyard and removed his shoes in an apparent attempt to escape.
The inquest at Inner West London Coroner's Court on Tuesday heard that Mr Harbord had visited several venues from 9pm, starting at Simmons Bar in Piccadilly Circus, where he became separated from a group. Detective Sergeant James Harrison of the Metropolitan Police told the court that Mr Harbord later got into altercations with staff at Bills and Piccadilly Theatre.
CCTV footage showed Mr Harbord scaling a gate and appearing to become trapped. He was then seen approaching stairs leading to residential rooftops above. Audio captured approximately 15 minutes before a 999 call reported his fall, featuring a man's voice shouting followed by sounds of smashed glass and sirens. A paramedic noted a cracked skylight at the scene.
The police investigation could not establish how Mr Harbord came to be at the location, as he did not know anyone at the property and there were no obvious entry points. It was concluded there was no third-party involvement. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be a head injury.
Mr Harbord's blood alcohol level was recorded at 251mg/100ml, more than triple the legal driving limit, and his blood and urine tested positive for recreational amounts of cocaine. His system also contained remnants of ADHD medication. The inquest heard that Mr Harbord, from Dartford, had stopped taking ADHD medication at age 15 but approached his GP about restarting it in 2023. He had complained of feeling out of control and had a history of excessive alcohol consumption.
Assistant coroner Sophie Mortimer recorded an open conclusion, stating it was not possible to know how Mr Harbord came to be on the rooftop, and she was unable to definitively say whether the fall was accidental or a deliberate act.
