Cake-eating contest death warning

[Sash]

A friend of a man who died during a fairy-cake eating competition at a cafe party has warned of the dangers of pranks which can go "horribly wrong".

The owners of Swansea's Monkey Cafe say they are devastated by the death of Adam Deeley, from Birmingham.

Staff and other guests tried but failed to revive Mr Deeley, 34, who worked at the cafe, but was off-duty at the time.

His colleague Paul Cunningham said: "Don't play these games because they can end in tragedy."

South Wales Police are to interview other guests at the party, but said there were no suspicious circumstances.

Mr Deeley, who had recently finished studying graphic design at Swansea Institute and had worked at the cafe for the past year, died at the end of a party early on Friday.

Mr Cunningham, a sound engineer at the cafe, was not there on the night, but said it happened in the aftermath of a fund-raising event for an exhibition by a local artist.

"Apparently a few of the staff and organisers were here finishing off what was left of the buffet," he said. "It's just one of those unfortunate accidents.

"I wasn't here, but I would have thought [people would have said]: fairy cakes lying around, let's see how many of these we can stuff in our mouths to have a laugh.

"He wasn't doing it alone, there were a few others doing it, from what I understand.

"The bottom line is, if anyone is going to start playing pranks by stuffing large quantities of food in their mouths, be wary."

Mr Cunningham said: "It's something that we've all done. We've all seen how many marshmallows we can put in our mouth, or cakes or biscuits or whatever it is, and this one went horribly wrong."

He described his friend as "your regular lovely guy" who was "always very kind, very considerate and great fun to be around".

"He would kind of sit in the wings and be there, but on occasions he would pop up say 'hello, here I am' and become the life and soul of the party. He was very well balanced and a lovely man."

The club will organise a tribute to Mr Deeley after his funeral.

In a statement, club owners Amanda Davey and Paul Dyke said: "We are all devastated by this tragic accident.

"Adam was loved by his co-workers and friends at the Monkey Cafe - we are all in shock.

"It was a tragic accident and very sad and should serve as a cautionary tale.

"Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family."

Flowers have been laid outside the cafe bar, with many bearing tributes.

Mr Deeley's family have travelled to south Wales to identify his body.

A South Wales Police spokesman said: "The issue concerning cakes is something we are looking at as a contributory factor in his passing."

A spokesman for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: "We attended after receiving a report a man was choking at the Monkey Cafe.

"A paramedic was sent initially but within 10 minutes a full emergency ambulance arrived which later took the patient to Singleton Hospital."


BBC NEWS | Wales | Cake-eating contest death warning


oops

[emma roids]

tbh your asking for trouble trying to eat that many cakes without a cuppa

[llll]

nice way to dieee

[Evilkitten]

It's kind of common sense that too much of one thing really is a bad thing O.O

Now I want some cake, mostly cheesecake really.

[Seth]

Originally Posted by emma roids

tbh your asking for trouble trying to eat that many cakes without a cuppa

Exactly, the cuppa counteracts the relative dryness of the cake making the combined mixture much easier to swallow.