Shrewsbury river victim's death ruled an accident as witnesses recall rescue efforts

An inquest into the death of Toby Jones, 31, who died after getting into difficulty in the river in Frankwell, Shrewsbury, was held on Tuesday.

The Shirehall hearing was told that Toby had been on a night out with friends and family on April 1 this year. He had been to see comedian Chris Ramsey at Theatre Severn with his brother, before continuing his night out at pubs in town.

But he got into difficulty in the river in the early hours of April 2. Despite a brave rescue attempt and the efforts of medics, Toby was pronounced dead at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in the early hours of the following morning.

With the help of family, friends and witnesses, police tried to piece together exactly what happened to Toby.

The last of his friends to see him was Luke Turner, who spent 45 minutes to an hour chatting to Toby at the bar in The Wheatsheaf, Frankwell. He told police that Toby seemed "fine" and didn't think he seemed drunk.

Another man, Jake Lawrence, was the one who spotted Toby in the water from the Victoria Quay side of the river.

"I heard shouting," he told police in a statement. "The shouting became more distressed."

Mr Lawrence sought help from passers by and nearby bars as well as phoning 999.

He went down to the fishing platform to try and help Toby, but he was too far away to reach.

"I was shouting him to come towards me, but he was in a panicked state," said Mr Lawrence. "He was waving his arms and trying to keep himself afloat."

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service crews arrived and got Toby out of the water and CPR was commenced. He was taken to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, but nothing could be done to save him and he died on April 3.

A toxicology test found his blood alcohol level to be 278. A pathologist gave the cause of his death as hypoxic brain injury due to drowning.

John Ellery, senior coroner for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said the best view of what probably happened was that Toby went into the river on the Frankwell side, where the barriers stop, and couldn't get back out.

A police detective described getting back out of the river on the Frankwell side "impossible", due to the height of the concrete wall. It is believed that Toby attempted to swim to the other side at Victoria Quay, but wasn't able to make it despite being a strong swimmer.

Mr Ellery said: "Although we do not know precisely how he ended up in the river, it was clearly an accident."

He recorded a conclusion of accidental death. Mr Ellery also praised the actions of Mr Lawrence who "did the best he could". Toby's mum Shane Game nodded in agreement.

Several family members and friends were in attendance.

Shane said she wants Toby to be remembered as "happy and loving", and that he was a keen skater, cyclist, gym-goer and thrill seeker. He had only recently been promoted to branch manager at work, and had moved into his own place in Longden Coleham.