A police sergeant has moved to reassure the public after two deaths on the same day in Weston-super-Mare.
The town saw high police activity in two areas and the use of a police helicopter on Saturday (May 2).
Police acknowledged this generates a lot of speculation and set out to reassure the public.
“I can assure you the incidents were not linked,” Weston town centre and Ashcombe sergeant Lee Kerslake said.
One incident was an adult woman in a house fire in Meadow Villas and the other was an adult man in what police believe was a cardiac arrest at Bristol Road Lower.
Despite the ‘exceptional’ efforts of the emergency services both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Sergeant Kerslake outlined how the high police presence throughout was routine.
He said: “As a process we would protect an area until we know exactly what has occurred so that we can establish if there is anything that requires further investigation.”
However in the two incidents on Saturday, no further police investigation is required.
“In these specific incidents neither was considered ‘suspicious’ and I can confirm there is no ongoing risk to the public,” he said.
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Sergeant Lee Kerslake said: “On May 2 we had a lot of police activity around two locations. One involved an adult female in a house fire in Meadow Villas and the other was an adult male in what we believe to be a cardiac arrest at Bristol Road Lower.
“Our colleagues in patrol and officers from our team worked to try to ensure that every possible measure was taken to preserve life however in both cases there was little we could do and health professionals pronounced both deceased at the scene.
“This did cause a significant amount of public interest as we were using officers to protect areas in both cases and had requested the air ambulance which always generates a lot of speculation in the community.
“In terms of police activity, I was not on duty yesterday, however I have been informed by supervisors on at the time that officers there worked tirelessly to ensure the protection of life wherever possible."
“The patrol team were exceptional, doing all they could to manage this difficult situation," he continued.
“The fact that we had officers protecting different parts of the area within the same day also can generate speculation, but I can assure you the incidents were not linked.
“As a process we would protect an area until we know exactly what has occurred so that we can establish if there is anything that requires further investigation."
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“Our priority in these cases is firstly the preservation of life and then ensuring we do the best possible job for those involved and their families," Kerslake continued.
“We do this with as minimal impact on the community as we can manage, but it does often trigger a lot of interest.
“In these specific incidents neither was considered ‘suspicious’ and I can confirm there is no ongoing risk to the public.
“If anyone has any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. For obvious reasons I cannot go into personal details of those involved, however I am happy to manage any issues of concern in the community.”
