Lucas Dobson: River Stour death was an accident, coroner rules

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-51855689

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A six-year-old boy died after falling into a fast-flowing river despite desperate attempts to save him, an inquest has heard.

Lucas Dobson was "sucked in" by strong currents in the River Stour in Sandwich, Kent, on 17 August 2019.

The inquest in Maidstone heard how he had tried to jump from a pontoon on to a boat but missed and "dropped like a pencil into the water".

Coroner Joanne Andrews concluded that his death by immersion was an accident.

She heard that Lucas' father Nathan Dobson owned a 25ft (7.6m) cabin boat and the pair would go out on the river every weekend.

They had been relaxing by the river with friends after sleeping on the boat at its moorings at the back of a friend's house on the night before Lucas died.

A barbecue was being prepared by one friend, James Fromage, and one of the other men, Pete Snelson, was fishing, the hearing was told.

Mr Dobson had climbed on to a small boat, also moored on the end of the pontoon, to take a look at the engine.

He recalled how after looking down for less than a minute, he heard a commotion and "in the blink of an eye James and Pete were in the water looking for Lucas".

He told the coroner: "I looked at what way the current was going and went a couple of boats down and jumped in."

Mr Dobson said he was not the best of swimmers and he felt his legs get swept away, and it was difficult to hold on.

Another friend also jumped into the "murky water" but no-one could see Lucas.

"He got sucked out like a bath plug. He didn't come up once.

"He didn't come back up again - it just sucked him in," Mr Dobson said.

Mr Fromage said he had earlier lifted other children in their group on to a moored cabin boat, but "10 minutes or so later" Lucas tried to jump on to the boat and missed.

"He just dropped like a pencil down into the water."

When he jumped into the water after Lucas, he found the current "surprisingly strong", he recalled.

Asked if anyone was wearing a buoyancy aid he said: "Nobody was wearing buoyancy aids that morning."

Lucas' body was found four days later following intensive searches.

Outside the inquest a statement from his family described him as "a beautiful, popular, vibrant six-year-old boy" whose death was "entirely preventable".

They said: "The family are devoting all their efforts to ensuring that Lucas' death brings greater awareness to safety on the river, greater care and attention is taken when children are present and that buoyancy aids are always used."

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