Expert Witness Journal Issue 65 February 2026 - Flipbook - Page 77
A Chartered Building Surveyor’s
assistance to Merseyside Police in
respect of the suspicious death of
Adrian Swift, (deceased 24.03.21)
by Tim Davies, Chartered Building Surveyor
昀氀oor area of the house when water began to emerge
through the rear lounge ceiling from the bathroom
above, on a Sunday morning, (24th March), 2021.
After entering to the bathroom, they reported that
they found Adrian, unconscious in the bath, and
had tried to resuscitate him with CPR, after lifting
him onto the bathroom 昀氀oor.
The Police were not convinced of the three occupant’s
version of events, and from the start classed Adrian’s
death as “suspicious”.
As a consequence, I was requested to urgently attend
the property, and I was asked to provide an expedited
CPRc 19 Compliant Report providing my opinion on
whether the amount of water/moisture/dampness
in the property was indicative of an over昀氀owing
bath, from the 昀椀rst 昀氀oor bathroom, (in which Adrian
was alleged to have accidently drowned).
Dampness in bathroom 昀氀oor
It was in early March, 2021 whilst Covid restrictions
were still in place, that I received a call from a
detective with Merseyside/Liverpool Police. It was
not the usual type of call I was expecting. Being
registered as a “Forensic Surveyor” on the NCA
(National Crime Agency) data-base for many years
I’ve become accustomed to requests to assist various
Police forces throughout the UK with investigations
generally into fraudulent property deals and Rogue
Traders divesting elderly and vulnerable customers
of their life savings. This enquiry turned out to be
quite di昀昀erent.
Emergency services had been called to a house
in Bishopgate Street, Wavertree on the morning
of March 24th, (2021), where a deceased male was
located in the 昀椀rst 昀氀oor bathroom. His name was
Adrian Swift and he was 57 years of age, (he was
known a昀昀ectionately by his family as “Ade”). He had
been found unresponsive by emergency responders
in the bathroom of the house he shared with two
other males (Adam Oldland and Steven Hardaker),
and a female, 45 year old Cheryl O’Callaghan,
believed to be Steven Hardaker’s Girlfriend.
Borroscope in 昀氀oor void
The property was still a secure crime scene when I
attended with one of the scene of Crime O昀케cers,
but I had permission to cut and lift sections of
昀氀oorboards; remove the bath panel and bath waste
trap to undertake my survey and assessment, for
which I used various hand and power tools together
with an electronic diagnostic damp meter, thermal
imaging camera and a borroscope. The Police
The version of events the three occupants had
given the Police was that they were in the ground
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
75
FEBRUARY 2026
