Worker 'drowned in truck'

Steven Hughes died in the River Witham

A worker drowned after his dumper truck fell into a river and trapped him under water, an inquest has heard.

Steven Hughes, 38, was working on an Environment Agency project to strengthen flood walls on the River Witham, in Lincoln, when the vehicle toppled over.

A jury at Lincoln Crown Court is considering the circumstances of Mr Hughes' death.

It heard Mr Hughes, from Scampton, was moving earth on the east bank in September last year when his truck fell into the water.

Completely overturned

At 0830 GMT, a work colleague noticed the submerged vehicle.

The man was unable to free Mr Hughes because the truck had completely overturned.

Police and firefighters could not pull Mr Hughes from the wreckage until about 0920 GMT - 50 minutes after the submerged vehicle was first spotted.

Mr Hughes was taken by ambulance to Lincoln County Hospital but could not be revived.

Knee surgery

A post mortem examination showed he died from drowning, the inquest heard.

The inquest also heard Mr Hughes had suffered a knee injury during a previous job on an oil rig off the Aberdeen coast.

Mr Hughes' medical notes showed he had undergone surgery after telling his GP that his knee was locking.

The jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict on Friday after hearing three days of evidence.