Christmas party death 'accident'

Mrs Davies put posters around Cardiff appealing for information

The events leading up to the deat of a father-of-two who fell into the river Taff in Cardiff after a Christmas work's party, will never be known, an inquest has heard.

Cardiff Coroner's Court heard how the 39-year-old from Blaenavon, disappeared after celebrating in Cardiff with work colleagues on 20 December.

His body was found by police divers almost a month later.

In the weeks before his remains were found, his wife Michelle made constant appeals about his disappearance and circulated leaflets and posters across Cardiff in an effort to find fresh information about her husband.

Mr Davies and his wife had been married for 14 years

The couple had been planning a holiday to Australia with their children 13-year-old Justin and Charlotte, 10, in the days before he went missing and his disappearance was considered to be out of character.

Giving evidence at the hearing on Wednesday, Mr Davies' friend and colleague Bernard Jenkin told how they had been go-karting during the day before going into Cardiff town centre.

Once there, Mr Jenkin told the inquest that they had visited a number of bars but insisted that his friend was not too drunk and was not in a "quarrelsome mood".

At some point in the evening, Mr Jenkin - a reserve Royal Marine - said he his friend disappeared and he was unable to find him.

What happened next, the court was told, is not known.

Paul Chapman told how he was walking along the Taff riverbank on the night in question when he heard a loud splash.

He added that there he did not see anyone else in the area.

"I turned and saw that clearly something or someone was moving in the river.

"The person began swimming across the river to the side I was standing on. They were swimming quiet strongly but when they got to the middle fo the river they began to turn up the river.

"At that point they appeared to be swimming less strongly and I called 'are you alright?', but there was no reply.

"He had gone under the water once and had come back up, but he went down again and did not resurface."

Detective Constable Paul Jennings told the coroner how the Millennium Walkway - a passage between the stadium and the banks of the Taff - was used regularly even after it was it blocked by a locked gate after 2030 GMT.

It is now known why or how Mr Davies went into the water. There is no evidence to suggest he went into the water to end his life. Coroner Lawrence Addicott

After the time, the officer went on, investigations had revealed that it was a "recognised practice" to climb over the barrier to get into the walkway - a sizeable shortcut.

"It is a sheer drop if a person were to fall at that point but there is no evidence to proev that Mr Davies took that route."

Home Office pathologist Dr Stephen Leadbetter said there was no evidence that Mr Davies had drowned.

The cold water along, he said, could have caused his heart to stop.

"Death can be very quick in these circumstances - almost immediate," he added.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Cardiff Coroner Lawrence Addicott said: "It is now known why or how Mr Davies went into the water. There is no evidence to suggest he went into the water to end his life."