By Cheryl Wood

A FIFE man has died following a tragic accident in Edinburgh as he made his way home from a house party.

Ross Patterson (28) was seriously injured when he fell from a fence at a building site in the city’s Restalrig area in the early hours of Sunday morning.

His mother Kathleen Patterson said she believed her son was trying to take a short cut home across the site in Hawkhill Avenue, near Easter Road football stadium, and had been startled when security guards shone a torch on him.

The security guards alerted the emergency services and Ross, who had moved away from his home town of Cupar several years ago, was rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

He was placed on a life-support machine but died late on Sunday evening.

Ross, who was unemployed but had previously worked in sales, lived in the city’s Leith Walk with his long-term girlfriend Wendy Newalls, a bingo cashier.

A former pupil of Bell Baxter High School, he was brought up in Cupar, but had also lived in Inverness for several years.

He had two brothers, Neil (29) and Ian (24).

At her home in Cupar yesterday, devastated Kathleen, a nurse, told The Courier her son’s accident had been “sudden and tragic” and added, “He had just gone out for a few drinks.

“He was a loving son, he had a very good sense of humour and was very witty.

“He had his scrapes when he was younger but he was a normal fun-loving lad.”

Ross was a keen music fan and liked playing the guitar and using his computer.

Kathleen also said that instead of blaming the security guards who were on duty for Ross’s accident she felt sympathy for them.

She said, “They feel that if they hadn’t shone their torch he wouldn’t have fallen but they were just doing their jobs.”

Lothian and Borders Police confirmed that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Ross’s death and said a report was being sent to the procurator fiscal.