Schoolboy drowns in river after best pal jumped in 10 times to try and save him

Shadrack Appiah, from Reading, lost his life after getting into difficulty in water. A coroner believes 'something good will come of this unspeakable loss' as safety groups call for signage around rivers

A schoolboy tragically drowned in a river after his best friend desperately tried to save him ten times, a court has heard.

Shadrack Appiah, 10, sadly died after he ran ahead of his pals and jumped into the River Kennet in Reading. Berkshire coroner Hannah Godfrey ruled at an inquest that his death was down to misadventure.

The young boy didn't realise that the water was 6ft deep with thick silt on the river bed on August 21, last year. His best friend attempted to rescue him but he "quickly disappeared" into the river after calling out for help.

According to the inquest, Shadrack couldn't swim and had previously completed ten swimming lessons at his school. Speaking about the incident, Ms Godfrey said: "It's the nature of children to do unwise and unpredictable things."

The coroner said a hidden hazard of unexpectedly deep water in the river, which may have appeared shallower due to a silt build-up, may have caused Shadrack to lose his footing, but how he came to be in trouble remained unclear. Ms Godfrey said that despite a lack of safety equipment at the riverbank, any equipment would have been unlikely to have aided efforts to rescue Shadrack, as he had quickly disappeared into the river after calling out for help.

Ms Godfrey said she would not recommend a prevention of future deaths report - but she had concerns about the lack of signage in the area when Shadrack entered the water and she was sceptical about warning signs added since his death. Signs have been put up around Waterloo Meadows in Reading showing deep water in the area and a sign at the entrance of the public grounds has been amended with a picture to indicate that swimming is prohibited.

She added: "The death of Shadrack appears to be the trigger for the start of the Reading River Safety Partnership. There is the potential to save lives not just in this specific area, but across the whole borough. Something good will come of this unspeakable loss suffered by the family."

The little boy's family said he wanted to be pilot in the future. They earlier paid tribute in a statement and said: “We loved Shadrack, he was a quiet person and a Christian who often read the bible. He loved football and wanted to be a pilot when he grew up. He loved his sisters Natalie and Nicole and they loved him. We will all miss him very much.”

Detective Inspector Hayley Burns previously said: “This is an absolute tragedy in which a young boy has died after getting into difficulty in the water. My thoughts, and the thoughts of all of us at Thames Valley Police are with Shadrack’s family and his friends, and we would ask that their privacy is respected.”