‘Nice guy’ who died in Sowerby Bridge rail tragedy named by …

The man who died in a Sowerby Bridge railway incident [1] has been named as 52-year-old Paul Roper. On Friday police said a person had been found dead on a railway line not far from his home on Crestfield Drive, Sowerby Bridge [2], Halifax [3]. Officers were called to a stretch of the tracks at 7am on March 31. British Transport Police [4] were responding to reports of a casualty.

Today, (Monday), a shocked neighbour described him as a librarian at Leeds University who kept himself to himself. He said: “I saw him only the other morning putting his bins out and also keeping the front of his garden up to scratch. He had a long-term partner.

“He would be up every morning at 5.30am to get to work. I didn’t know him well but he was a nice guy who enjoyed playing his guitar and loved his music. He also had a cat which is being looked after.”

There are no suspicious circumstances and a file has been passed to the coroner’s office in Bradford [6].

An inquest into his death will be opened at Bradford Coroner’s Court in due course.

References

^ railway incident (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
^ Sowerby Bridge (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
^ Halifax (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
^ British Transport Police (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
^ Huddersfield boss speaks out as restaurant ordered to improve (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
^ Bradford (www.examinerlive.co.uk)