Doctor drowned after 'full lunch'

Dr Hannam had gone for a swim following a family barbecue

An RAF doctor drowned in his back garden pool after going swimming on a full stomach, an inquest has heard.

Dr Robin Hannam had taken a dip after enjoying a family barbecue at his home in Abbeymead, Gloucester, in July.

His daughters, Laura, 16, and Alice, 10, looked on as Dr Hannam dived into the water but never resurfaced.

Gloucester coroner Alan Crickmore, who recorded a verdict of accidental death, was told the girls had assumed their 50-year-old father was pretending to have drowned.

His wife Lorraine, a nurse, tried to resuscitate him, but the doctor, who had recently returned from service in the Gulf, was pronounced dead by a local GP.

The mixture of a full stomach and alcohol was a fatal combination, the inquest heard. Dr Gill Farmer

Gloucester coroner Alan Crickmore was told Dr Hannam had choked on partially-digested food before drowning.

"He dived in and regurgitated some food which he then inhaled," said pathologist Dr Gill Farmer.

"The cause of death is asphyxia due to inhalation of food and drowning."

The inquest heard that Dr Hannam, who was appointed chief medical officer at RAF Innsworth in 1996, had slightly above the legal driving limit of alcohol in his body when he dived into the water.

"When you have alcohol on board your gag reflex isn't quite as good," Dr Farmer said.

"The mixture of a full stomach and alcohol was a fatal combination."