Channel swim firm says nothing more it can do

Iain Hughes, 42, was a crew manager at West Midlands Fire Service

The group which facillitates swims across the English Channel has said it does not believe there was any other action it could take when it came to aborting crossing attempts.

The Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation (CSPF) responded after a coroner sent it a prevention of future deaths report, stating there should be greater clarity about who decides when to abort a swim and when.

The report followed the death of Iain Hughes, from Dudley, whose body was found in waters near Belgium on 4 July.

His inquest ended in February 2024, with the coroner concluding his death was misadventure.

In the report, Black Country Coroner Zafar Siddique stated that confusion about who, and when, the decision is made to abort a swim could result in unnecessary delay and increase risk.

Mr Hughes started his solo charity challenge with a support boat from Dover in June 2023 before disappearing.

The boat's pilot had concerns about the firefighter's progress in the water 30 minutes before he became submerged, it said.

However, it was not clear how this was communicated to the family and no action was taken to abort the swim.

The pilot of the support boat was also sent the prevention of future deaths report.

The CSPF said it had been greatly saddened by the death of Mr Hughes, and had given the coroner's concerns careful thought.

'Safest arrangement'

The CSPF, which facilitates and adjudicates Channel crossing attempts, said it had no control over the piloting operations, nor management of the swimmer and passengers on board the escort vessel.

It was not aware of a situation having ever arisen where a swimmer, their support team or pilot had requested clarification from it about who made the decision to abort a swim, it said.

There had never been any suggestion of doubt about the fact that the swimmer, the swimmer's support team and the pilot each have a separate right to abort the swim without needing to seek approval from the others, it stated.

That, it said, was the most sensible and safest arrangement.

The CSPF added it had suggested to recognised piloting businesses that they should satisfy themselves about the adequacy, clarity and accessibility of their swimmer and passenger safety briefings, and their crew's training for emergencies, among other things.

The pilot of the boat which accompanied Mr Hughes also responded to the coroner and said he had observed Mr Hughes had been tired but not struggling.

Mr Hughes was more than 11 hours into his crossing attempt when he became submerged in the water.