A man drowned in a hot tub while enjoying a holiday, an inquest has heard. The incident was described as " a terribly tragic accident."
Ian William Foden, from Speke, Merseyside, was holidaying in Wales with his wife Donna and other family members last September. They rented out a property on Beverley Drive in Prestatyn to celebrate his birthday.
Mr Foden had been drinking pints of beer at a local pub and had been to the beach on the second day of their holiday before returning to the rented property on September 24, assistant coroner for north Wales Kate Sutherland told the inquest hearing at Ruthin County Hall.
He and his wife enjoyed a dip in the hot tub, North Wales Live reports. After about 20 minutes of relaxing together, Mrs Foden got out at about 5pm. But, her 56-year-old husband said "I can't" when she asked if he'd also get out with her.
She set off a short while later to get the family some tea from a nearby fish and chip shop as Karen Burns, Mrs Foden's sister, stayed behind and periodically kept an eye on Ian who was still in the hot tub alone at about 5.10pm.
It was said that roughly 20 minutes later Mr Foden was found face-down in the tub and unresponsive. A neighbour living next to the holiday home helped Ms Burns to pull him out of the tub and emergency services were called for help. Despite their best efforts, the dad-of-three was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 6.45pm.
A post mortem was conducted on the coroner's orders and the only thing of note was some froth in Mr Foden's lungs. Ms Sutherland told the family that this is a typical indicator that someone who drowned had to have inhaled some water.
Mrs Foden provided a statement to the inquest that said her husband's death has “left a huge hole in the lives of everyone who loved him”. Her husband, an avid Liverpool supporter, had trained as an engineer and had a love of DIY.
Ms Sutherland agreed with the medical cause of death being drowning due to alcohol intoxication. She went on to reach a conclusion that Mr Foden died as a result of a "terribly tragic accident" and offered his family at the inquest her sincere condolences.
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