Thames death could have been prevented - inquest

A man who helped save four people caught in a fatal incident on the River Thames said the death of one of the crew could have been prevented.

On 11 October, 68-year-old Peter Lawson was swept down the Little Grey Weir in Sunbury, in Surrey, after his boat capsized and broke in two - his body was found nine days later.

Chris Whiterod told an inquest at Woking Coroner's Court on Friday that Mr Lawson may have been saved if there was an emergency system to shut the weir.

Anna Burns, the River Thames area director for the Environment Agency (EA), said while she understood the concern, there was a chance of misuse if there were emergency buttons.

Ms Burns, who described operating the weir as "complex", explained that extra safety signs had been put on the weir following the incident.

The lock box had also been changed since Mr Lawson's death and a copy of the key was kept at the Sunbury depot.

The EA's safety warning boards for the stretch of the river was red on the day of the incident, and Ms Burns told coroner Scott McDonnell that more work was needed to ensure people understood the agency's guidance.

She said the EA had no power to prevent people going on the river and they did their own local assessments of risk.

The EA's field team leader Steve Scott rushed from his office in Sunbury when he spotted the broken rowing boat float past and got instructions over the phone on how to close the weir.

Mr Whiterod told the inquest: "If we had been able to do that immediately, I wouldn't have gone out in my boat and Peter wouldn't have drowned."

He said the waves at the weir on that day were "terrifying" and making a "churning, rolling, standing wave".

He added that his own boat partially capsized because of the force of the water.

The inquest heard that the gate had been open for several days to control the flow of water across the river after a period of heavy rain.

Crew member Ashley Tilling said a cruiser, which had sunk two weeks before, appeared on the day of the incident and could have impacted the water flow.

The inquest also heard that the EA had planned to remove submerged boats from nearby Weir B, but the work had to be put on hold because of heavy rain in September.

It meant the weir was partially open, and Weir C, where the accident happened, was fully open.

Another boat had also submerged on Weir C towards the end of September, the inquest heard.

Ms Burns told the inquest: "Given the flow and immense pull of the water, it's my opinion it did not affect the boats in the channel."

Although the inquest has ended, the verdict is expected to be given at a later date.

Mr Lawson's widow, Helen, said: "Peter's wonderful quirky blend of love, curiosity and kindness touched so many lives, and I shall remain forever grateful for the joy he brought into mine.

"Our families and friends hope lessons have been learned about improving emergency procedures and communication of potential dangers to river users."

She added: "It seems very fitting that improved safety for river users will be his legacy to the rowing community."

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