GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK — A crossword compiler drowned when he got into difficulty swimming off the Tongan island of Eua during a holiday, an inquest heard. Gavin Webster, 42, of Hadrian Close, Lydney, died on September 12 last year, an inquest heard. A verdict of accidental death was recorded. In a statement his mother June Webster said she and her husband received the 'horrific news' from police on September 15 that their son had died. Gavin had achieved a first class degree in English literature and a masters in publishing studies and worked abroad as a freelance crossword compiler, she said. He lived in Spain for nine years and saved enough for a trip around the world, and while based in New Zealand had visited Tonga and the islands of the South Pacific. A report from Tongan police, read at the inquest, stated that on August 30, 2008, Mr Webster arrived at Tongatapu, Tonga, from New Zealand. On September 11, he went to Eua island and checked into a motel, the court heard. The next day, he joined four other foreign tourists at the resort and another Tongan tourist, along with two Tongan tour guides, for a scenic tour of the island – which arrived at Ha'aluma beach at 3.30pm. The inquest heard how the beach was sandy and 200 metres out there was coral reef. The sea was rough with big waves breaking on the reefs. A party, including Mr Webster, went for a 20 minute swim in an area used for swimming between the reef, the court heard, then Mr Webster borrowed a snorkel, mask and flippers and went back in. After ten minutes, he was seen swimming in the open sea beyond the breakers and he was waved at in warning, but another wave took him into the ocean. The tourists then lost sight of him, the inquest heard. A request was then made for a boat and a vessel departed, which arrived at the beach at 6pm. A search 20m from the breakers revealed a body facing downwards, the court heard. Mr Webster was lifted onto the boat and resuscitation attempts failed, the inquest heard. | | The police were informed and at 6.30pm, he arrived back on shore and was transported to hospital. A district officer and a health officer concluded that the cause of death had been drowning – with which a Tongan pathologist's report agreed. When the body was repatriated another post mortem was carried out by pathologist Jonathan Christie-Brown at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, and although he put the cause of death as undetermined, the evidence he found was not incompatible with drowning. Recording an accidental death verdict, Alan Crickmore, the coroner, said he was sure that Mr Webster had died as a result of drowning. |
