Man drowns in strong currents while on holiday

A man from Devon drowned while snorkelling with sea turtles off a small, uninhabited Caribbean island, an inquest has heard.

Retired newspaper editor Gareth Weekes, 77, was on a week-long yachting trip in St Vincent and the Grenadines when the incident happened in March 2023, Exeter Coroner's Court was told on Thursday.

His wife, Alison Weekes, said they were not warned about the strong currents before being left in the water.

She told the hearing: "I fully accept his death was accidental, but we had no warnings about currents and no means of communication from the uninhabited island - the dinghy disappeared."

The yacht's captain and the Dutch company that organised the holiday said that the swimming and snorkelling trips were free activities, but the risks and responsibilities lay with the guests themselves.

Mrs Weekes told the coroner she believes the sailing company should improve their safety procedures.

Mrs Weekes said her husband - a former editor of the Tavistock Times Gazette - was an "adequate swimmer" and had swum from the yacht on previous days.

She said Mr Weekes chose not to use flippers on the day in question, as they were difficult to walk with on the beach.

They entered the sea together, but she left the water when her mask misted up, before realising her husband was missing.

She appealed to other tourists for help, before one of the yacht's dinghies returned after 20 minutes, when a "frantic" Mrs Weekes told the crewman her husband was missing.

The crew searched for Mr Weekes, finding him clinging to ropes at the edge of the snorkelling zone.

They took Mr Weekes back to the yacht, where he was given CPR, but could not be saved.

A post mortem concluded he died from drowning and he also had atrial fibrillation and Parkinson's Disease.

The senior Devon coroner, Philip Spinney, recorded a conclusion of accidental death.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].