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| Girl canoe tragedy 'misadventure' | Girl canoe tragedy 'misadventure' |
| (21 minutes later) | |
| A verdict of misadventure has been returned at the inquest of a nine-year-old girl who drowned when a canoe overturned in river rapids. | |
| Billie Clayton was on the River Wye in Powys with her twin brother Edward and their father Ian when the incident happened at Glasbury in April 2006. | Billie Clayton was on the River Wye in Powys with her twin brother Edward and their father Ian when the incident happened at Glasbury in April 2006. |
| Mr Clayton, 48, a presenter for ITV Yorkshire, was able to reach his son, but Billie was not found until later. | Mr Clayton, 48, a presenter for ITV Yorkshire, was able to reach his son, but Billie was not found until later. |
| The inquest in Welshpool, Powys, heard how firefighters tried to save Billie. | The inquest in Welshpool, Powys, heard how firefighters tried to save Billie. |
| But she was later pronounced dead at Hereford General Hospital. | But she was later pronounced dead at Hereford General Hospital. |
| Mr Clayton, of Featherstone, West Yorkshire, told the three-day hearing that the canoe overturned after he took a wrong turn in the river while they tried to make their way downstream in Hay-on-Wye. | |
| Decision | |
| He described the agonising dilemma of which of his two children to save first. | |
| He said his son Edward was left clinging on to the branches of a felled tree while there was no sign of his daughter, who he suspected was under the overturned canoe stuck upstream. | |
| Mr Clayton told the inquest on Monday: "Did I make the right decision? | |
| "I don't know and I suppose I will never know. Should I go for the one I can see and hope that later I can find the one I can't see?" | |
| The inquest also heard from owner of a company who rented the canoe to the Claytons. | |
| Wayne Sheppard, from Brecon, set up the canoeing company with his friend Derek Price after enjoying canoeing with his own family. | |
| Mr Sheppard said he had no idea the conditions were so bad that day in 12 April 2006. | |
| Submerged tree | |
| "If I had thought it was dangerous, I wouldn't have let you on the river, Mr Clayton. That's gospel," Mr Sheppard said at the second day of the hearing on Tuesday. | |
| "I've got children of my own. I've got grandchildren of my own." | |
| A couple canoeing on the same stretch of river had capsized a week earlier, the inquest was told. | |
| Christopher Boulter, from Crickhowell, Powys and his wife said they got into difficulties after a strong current took them towards a submerged tree trunk they had been warned about, causing the boat to overturn. | |
| Meanwhile, retained firefighter Richard Wildee, based in Hay-on-Wye, was part of a team who launched a rescue boat to search for Billie. | |
| He described how his colleague found a buoyancy aid after spotting a submerged paddle near bushes on the riverbank. | |
| More follows... | More follows... |