A Liverpool hotel is facing the threat of prosecution after a 21-year-old woman was crushed to death by a wardrobe in her room.
Chloe Haynes, 21, was found dead under the heavy wooden wardrobe at the Britannia Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool after a night out in the city.
The holiday park worker had travelled from Pwllheli, North Wales, to stay with a friend at the Grade II listed hotel in Liverpool city centre.
The historic hotel, which is owned and managed by Britannia Hotels, now faces prosecution following the launch of a health and safety probe.
The 21-year-old’s mother, Nicola Williams, 49, of Wrexham, is also seeking answers regarding her ‘petite and beautiful’ daughter’s death – as Liverpool City Council confirmed its investigation into the tragedy is ‘ongoing’.
Chloe Haynes, 21, (pictured) was crushed to death under a wardrobe in the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool city centre
Ms Williams said: ‘I need to know, as a mum I need to know every detail. I don’t know how long she was under there before she died.
‘I just cannot believe my daughter is never coming home because of a wardrobe, for the sake of maybe two screws in a wall.’
The 21-year-old – who was a twin and one of five children – was only discovered when her friend returned to the room in the early hours of the morning to find the horrific scene.
The friend in turn called for help before two men from other rooms assisted in lifting the wardrobe off Chloe – only to find her crushed underneath.
Chloe Haynes, 21, died while staying in the hotel after a night out with a friend in Liverpool
Three men, aged 26, 46 and 49 – including the 21-year-old’s friend and the the two ‘Good Samaritans’ who came to help – were initially arrested in connection with the death.
Those arrested included 46-year-old father Wayne Kenny who was about to leave the hotel for the day with his two sons before rushinng over to the scene in the 21-year-old’s room.
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All three were however released without charges after Merseyside Police later said Ms Hayne’s death had been ‘accidental’ and that there were ‘no suspicious circumstances’.
Liverpool Council later carried out spot checks on the historic hotel, before issuing prohibition notices to Britannia Hotels in relation to the safety of the wardrobes found in Chloe’s room twelve days later.
The company in turn appealed Liverpool Council’s prohibition notice on the wardrobe before the notices were cancelled after work was carried out.
The 21-year-old’s mother said: ‘By midnight, she had been drinking shots and so on and she was a bit drunk, so her friend has taken her back to the hotel to sleep it off, and then he’s gone back out.
‘It seems she has got up out of the bed confused, not knowing where she is, and she’s opened the door of the wardrobe maybe thinking it is the toilet or the door to go back out of the room.
‘It was a big, old, heavy wardrobe and it’s fallen on her and crushed her windpipe.’
The Adelphi Hotel’s owners, Britannia Hotels, now faces the threat of prosecution over Chloe Haynes’ death
Speaking about her loss in September 2022, the bereaved mother said: ‘She loved animals, she had a little dog called Archie she was obsessed with. There are so many photos of them together.
‘My little nickname for her was birdy. She was so petite and little, and when she ate she was like a little bird,’ Ms Willaims said.
‘She was quiet, she was somebody who didn’t speak unless it needed saying.
‘She was beautiful, but she had struggled with confidence about herself so she didn’t really know how beautiful she was and that made her beautiful on the inside as well. She was very kind.’
A spokesman for Liverpool Council said: ‘We can confirm that we are carrying out a health and safety investigation into a death at the Adelphi Hotel on 10 September. Our inquiries are on-going.’
The Adelphi’s parent company Britannia Hotels did not respond to requests for comment.
