Tributes paid to Pevensey train driver with ‘many friends’

Fred Penfold, 49, died on December 27, 2020 at his home in Hamble Road, Stone Cross, an inquest heard.

Mr Penfold’s wife, Olga, said the family often went on walks but her husband chose to stay at home that day as he struggled with sleep the night before following Boxing Day celebrations.

Mrs Penfold said her husband told her he planned to stay at home to repair his motorbike, which was a hobby of his.

When Mrs Penfold returned home she discovered her husband unconscious in the garage with the motorbike running before calling an ambulance.

Pathologist Mark Taylor determined Mr Penfold’s cause of death to be carbon monoxide poisoning.

Mrs Penfold told the inquest at Eastbourne Town Hall on Thursday, August 19 that her husband had ‘many friends’.

She said, “He was very happy in his job as a train driver.”

Mrs Penfold also explained how her husband enjoyed spending time working on his motorbike and watching sports.

She said, “He was brought up as an only child with a single parent. He liked his own company.

“He always had to be doing something.”

East Sussex coroner Alan Craze said, “All the evidence points towards it simply being an accident.”

Sussex Police detective sergeant Gregory Montier said neighbours had heard Mr Penfold revving his bike before he was found.

Mr Craze, who came to the conclusion that Mr Penfold’s death was accidental, added, “This was a straight-forward, clear accident.”