The sisters of a "spiritual, kind and caring" young man who was a member of the Great British Sailing Team have warned of the dangers of swimming in open water.
Haydn Griffiths, 23, from Lowton, was reported missing after going swimming in the River Mersey on July 19 2022 - one of the hottest days of the year. His body was found by an RNLI crew in the water near Crosby five days later.
His sister Megan, 30, said: "Haydn was determined. Anything he put his mind to, he would do it, whether it's learning to play the guitar or learning a really difficult song. He used to do box jumps in the gym and he'd stack up all the boxes as high as possible, and keep jumping until he could do it.
READ MORE: Sister's final tribute to tragic swimmer as Haydn Griffiths laid to rest
"And he was so caring. He fed the birds, he talked to the swans, he loved animals. He was a nature boy really, very spiritual, kind and caring."
She added: "Haydn definitely lived his life to the fullest, snowboarding on mountains, doing all the tricks. He didn't hold back, he just did it and enjoyed it."
His other sister Brogan, 26, said: "He was always one for nature. One time he brought frogs in and put them in the bubble bath and gave them a bath. My mum cried 'Haydn, get those frogs out of there!' - so he took them to bed! He must have been about six or seven. He would always be getting up to mischief."
At an inquest today, December 22, it was heard how Haydn had attended the beach at Derby Pool, New Brighton, with a female friend at 6.50pm on July 19, when temperatures across the UK soared to more than 26C.
The pair decided to swim out to the offshore windmills, and were within 500m to 800m of the turbines when they became tired and decided to return to shore.
Coroner Anita Bhardwaj said: "They were swimming against the tide, and felt like they simply weren't moving."
At 9.30pm, Haydn, who was a marine engineer and qualified sailing instructor trained in advanced open water diving, told his friend he was suffering from cramp and severe tiredness. She tried to encourage him to keep swimming, but he was too exhausted, and they agreed she should swim to shore without him and get help.
She swam for another hour, "during which time she could still hear Haydn, because he was shouting for help." However, by the time she reached the beach three miles away, Haydn had disappeared in the water.
A huge search was launched by the Coastguard, RNLI, and police and fire services, but was called off at around 5pm on July 20 after 18 hours. Shortly before 8pm on July 24, Haydn's body was found by the RNLI in the water off Crosby, and was taken to Pier Head, Liverpool, where his identity was confirmed.
A post-mortem found the cause of death was drowning.
Haydn was laid to rest in a specially woven grass casket decorated with flowers grown by his dad, Bryn, at Howe Bridge Crematorium in Atherton on August 16.
His family has promised to carry on raising awareness about the potential dangers of swimming in open water through their "Stay safe for Haydn" campaign, which raises money for the RNLI.
Megan said: "I feel strongly about raising awareness because if it can happen to Haydn, who was such a proficient swimmer, it can happen to anyone, and if we can and either prevent or minimise that it would be amazing. I feel it's our job as older sisters."
Ms Bhardwaj said: "This is something that needs to be highlighted to people, how dangerous the river is, because ultimately it does have a strong tidal wave and no matter how hot it is, it's still going to get cold. Sometimes when we have hot weather, there's a false reassurance that we have that everything will be fine - and probably moreso for somebody proficient in swimming."
Handing down a conclusion of accidental death, she added: "Clearly Haydn had a huge character, full of life, determination, and had a great future ahead of him. This can only be described as a tragic accident."
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