Family of Wigan man on life support hit back after rumours of his death spread

Ian Boyle, 57, was at his home in Kitt Green on Saturday afternoon when he fell down the stairs - hitting his head on a glass table at the bottom.

An air ambulance was called to the scene and Mr Boyle, who lives on Severn Drive, was initially rushed to Aintree Hospital for emergency treatment.

The incident, which occurred when he was heading downstairs to answer the front door, left Ian with a serious head injury.

He is still in intensive care in a critical but stable condition.

His sister, Sue Houghton, contacted the Wigan Post after being inundated with condolences from people who heard rumours that her brother has died.

“I got a message saying ‘sorry for your loss”, said Sue. “I was sat right next to my dad. It broke his heart.

“We hadn’t even seen my brother at that point.

“There were then other rumours, that he was dead, that we had gone to hospital to turn the life support machine off.

“I don’t post my private life on Facebook, but I had tagged myself at hospital because I knew people would be talking and I was in a bit of a panicked state.”

Mr Boyle’s accident occurred on Saturday afternoon, shortly after a serious crash between a cyclist and a pedestrian just yards away.

Officers and an air ambulance had been present in the area throughout the day, flying a cyclist to Aintree Hospital at around 2pm after he suffered serious injuries.

But disaster struck again shortly afterwards just metres from the crash site at the Severn Drive home, causing a second air ambulance to attend the area in just a matter of hours.

Police also made their way to the home, and the criminal investigation department was called in to conduct an investigation.

Mr Boyle is reported to be on life-support but making progress.

His concerned sister added: “He is recovering but he is not out of danger.

“He had a scan yesterday and there is nothing to report back on so that’s good news.

“They are putting a tracheostomy to help him breathe, and taking the tubes out.

“And they will hopefully be taking him off life support slowly.

“I really just hope people stop with these rumours.

“It’s incredibly upsetting for us.

“We would really appreciate no more messages consoling us for our loss.”

The incident sparked confusion this weekend when eye witnesses reported seeing two air ambulances land just hours apart from each other.

The first landing site was reported as opposite Westfield Primary School - with the second being around 200 yards away at the back of Hodder Close.

Despite several calls to police and paramedics, neither were able to confirm that they attended two incidents in the same area on Saturday.

Both patients taken from Kitt Green attended the same hospital.

Their families both travelled to be with their loved ones on Saturday afternoon.