A stupid prank had a bad ending: a man was taken to hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Pranks are normal among friends. Sometimes it’s just to make the other person look a little ridiculous, other times it’s to embarrass them terribly, but this prank definitely didn’t have the desired result.

22-year-old Briton Conner Groom died after an incident involving him and his friends at the Topgolf golf course in Chigwell, Essex.

The groom was there for a company Christmas party in December 2021 and a recent inquest into his death has shed more light on the matter.

The inquest took place in Chelmsford in May 2024 and it was revealed that the group had been “drinking heavily” after travelling by bus from Weeley, near Clacton-on-Sea, to the golf course on December 21.

22-year-old Conner Groom died of hypoxic brain injury resulting from a traumatic spinal cord injury. (GoFundMe)

They arrived around 7 p.m. and drank alcohol at the bar before heading to their booth on the second floor of the two-story establishment an hour later.

The investigation found that the group were “having fun” by pushing each other into the safety net at the end of the golf courses.

They were warned several times by staff to stop “messing around”. By this time, Groom had already been pushed into the net twice and had also pushed one of his friends into the net.

Shortly after 10 p.m., Groom was about to hit a shot on the driving range when one of his friends told another that he was planning to hit Groom into the net again.

The friend, Ben Gardner, came running from behind after the shot, whereupon Groom fell over the safety net and plummeted about three and a half metres to the ground.

It is believed that his leg got caught in the net as he fell, meaning Groom fell face first to the ground and “had absolutely no control over his landing.”

The group was said to have been completely drunk before the tragedy. (Getty Stock Image)

Security officer Dion McKenzie, who was at the scene, said his friend ran down the stairs and repeatedly told Groom, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” while he lay on the floor with a bleeding nose.

Groom was admitted to the Royal London Hospital that same evening but died on January 25, 2022.

The cause of death was hypoxic brain damage resulting from a traumatic spinal cord injury, according to a Mail Online report.

Gardner was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm without intent, but the charges were later dropped.

Essex Coroner Lincoln Brookes concluded that Groom’s death was the result of an accident caused by “drunken but not malicious brat play”.