Boy drowned in raft adventure

A schoolboy from south Wales drowned while rafting on a "hazardous" river swollen by rain, an inquest has heard.

Rhys Jones was in the River Ebbw at Rhiwderin, near Newport, in February when he was swept away along with two of his friends.

The two boys managed to get out but Rhys was carried further downstream.

Despite the efforts of police officers who pulled him from the water, he was later pronounced dead.

The inquest heard how Rhys, from Rogerstone, may not have been rafting before as he was relatively new to the area.

He was one of four boys who got into the river after making a raft out of building materials.

One of the boys - who cannot be identified - described how Rhys got onto the raft first.

"The river was very different from what it was in the summer," he said.

Rhys didn't show any obvious signs of life and his lips had turned blue Pc David Hawke

"The water was higher and the current was faster and stronger than usual.

"It crossed my mind that we shouldn't go in but we did anyway."

He told the inquest how the current was too strong and the raft "started to bounce in the water".

In the panic that ensued - one of the boys managed to get out of the water and scramble up the steep banks to raise the alarm.

But the three other boys were carried down the river.

Two of them got to dry land but Rhys continued down the river.

Pc David Hawke - who had arrived to search for the boys - explained how he jumped into the "hazardous" water to rescue him.

He told the inquest: "I jumped in the water, it was extremely cold, and pushed against me dragging me under.

"It was very violent and turbulent.

"Rhys didn't show any obvious signs of life and his lips had turned blue," he added.

Mr Hawke described how they managed to get Rhys to the bank but were unable to resuscitate him.

Gwent coroner David Bowen recorded a verdict of accidental death describing it as a "tragic and unexpected event".

"The thought of floating down a river on a homemade raft would have generated a sense of adventure to Rhys and his friends, " he told the inquest, "to which any sense of danger would have been subverted."