The body of a 'loving uncle' was discovered in a canal by a family holidaying in Wales, an inquest has heard. The body of 35-year-old Thomas Evans from Wrexham was discovered in Llangollen Canal by a family on a narrowboat holiday.
Mr Evans passed away on October 30, 2021 and was discovered in the canal the next morning in Chirk. Mr Evans, who would often work as a handy man in the area and "enjoyed being outside and playing with his nieces and nephews.
Mr Evans' brother said he was last seen in the afternoon on the day of his death, reports North Wales Live. On the morning of October 31, just after 7am, a family were enjoying the final day of their canal boating holiday when one of the men on board found a body floating in the water.
The body was then brought onboard the barge boat which then came to a stop as soon as possible, Kate Sutherland, assistant coroner for North Wales east and central heard at Ruthin County Hall on March 30. Police were then called and Mr Evans was sadly pronounced dead following their arrival at 10.15am.
According to Detective Sergeant Critchley, who attended the scene and provided a statement for the inquest, Mr Evans was known to use the towpath by the canal in Chirk. The conditions at the time and the timing of his last sightings later in the afternoon meant that the towpath "would have been wet and slippery" at the time Mr Evans walked along it.
Mr Evans had also been seeing carrying alcohol and swaying on his feet earlier in the day on October 30. A post mortem carried out by Dr Mark Atkinson found that Mr Evans had 316mg per 100ml of ethanol in his bloodstream which is just under four times the drink driving limit. Levels above 300mg are associated with loss of consciousness, Dr Atkinson told the court via a statement. Wrinkling across Mr Evans' skin also suggested "prolonged immersion" in the water by the time he was found, the pathologist said.
The coroner heard there was no evidence of any third party involvement in Mr Evans' death and provided a cause of death of drowning with alcohol toxicity as a contributory factor. A narrative conclusion was recorded which read that Mr Evans was found dead in Llangollen Canal in Chirk and that the "precise sequence of his death could not be ascertained".
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
