Teenager took 'minutes' to drown

Robert Gill's body was discovered by a team of police divers

A teenager would have taken minutes to drown in the icy River Great Ouse in Bedfordshire, a pathologist has said.

But it was not possible to say how long Robert Gill, 17, floundered in the cold water, Benjamin Swift told jurors.

"It would have been minutes rather than seconds," he said, telling Luton Crown Court the cause of death was drowning.

Sean Downes, 18, of Acacia Road, Bedford, Thomas Luddington, 18, of Dunham Close, Bedford, and a 16-year-old, who cannot be named, deny murder.

Mr Luddington has pleaded guilty to manslaughter on particular grounds.

Mr Downes and the 16-year-old also deny false imprisonment and robbery - offences which Mr Luddington admits.

The pathologist listed 26 areas of visible injury on the teenager's body and eight areas of internal bruising, some likely to have been caused by punches and kicks.

Hung from parapet

It was possible Robert had been put in a head lock, and likely that he had put his arms up to protect his head but there were no signs of any weapons being used and no fractures or serious internal injuries, he said.

When his body was found on 4 January this year he was fully clothed, but all his pockets were empty and there was no jewellery on him.

The prosecution allege he was seen as an easy target for a robbery when he was in Bedford town centre alone in the early hours of 27 December last year.

But the would-be robbers became frustrated when they could not get any money out of the teenager's bank.

It is claimed they used his body like a punch bag before hanging him from a parapet of the Royal Engineers Bridge. He was then thrown into the water.

The trial continues.