102-year-old man dies after spending three days stuck on roof in Devon

Former racing driver found face down on a garden rake with his tools next to him, after climbing on to roof to fix aerial

A 102-year-old man who was stuck on the roof of his Devon home for three days has died, police said.

Ron Easton climbed on top of an extension on his home with a bucket of tools to fix an aerial but fell or collapsed, according to Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue.

Mr Easton’s friend called 999 after spotting three unopened milk bottles outside his home in Bigbury-on-Sea on Wednesday.

Paramedics had found the centenarian lying face down on a garden rake, with his tools next to him.

With the help of the fire service, they managed to bring Mr Easton down from the roof. He was then taken to hospital in an air ambulance.

His family said he died on Friday at Plymouth hospital.

A local tribute has been made, which reads “Ton-Up Ron RIP”, a nickname referencing to the former racing driver’s love of cars.

Trish Bagley, who found Mr Easton, told the BBC he was a “strong man” who was “always out in the garden”.

“I had no idea he was there, I just knew something was wrong,” she said.

”He always takes his milk in every day so alarm bells rang – Monday and Tuesday’s milk was there so he was probably there from Sunday.”

A flag in the village of Bigbury-on-Sea has been lowered to half-mast in tribute to Mr Easton.

Additional reporting by PA