Dorset Council urges coasteering shake-up after death

Iain Farrell died after taking his two sons on a coasteering trip

A council has called for changes to the coasteering industry after a father drowned on a commercially-run trip.

Iain Farrell, 49, from Buckinghamshire, died in high seas on an outing with his two sons near Swanage in May 2019.

Dorset Council said an inquest into his death, which ended on Friday, was the first examination of coasteering firms by a coroner.

It urged Dorset coroner Brendan Allen to write a report demanding staffing changes and checks on swimming ability.

Coasteering involves climbing and swimming on a rocky coastline (generic image)

Mr Farrell, who was a weak swimmer, struggled to cope with challenging waves at Hedbury Quarry on 26 May, the inquest heard.

Several paid-for coasteering sessions were being held in the area and all of the groups aborted their expeditions due to the worsening sea state, the coroner was told.

The father of two, from Dorney, was towed by his group's lone instructor to a ledge but was washed back into the sea by a wave, the inquest heard.

He then inhaled water as he struggled in an inlet and never regained consciousness, the coroner was told.

Mr Farrell entered the water with an instructor and eight other swimmers at Hedbury Quarry

The other eight swimmers, including Mr Farrell's sons and two other children, were left drifting for at least 45 minutes until they were rescued by a lifeboat.

Activities firm Land & Wave, which organised the trip, told the court it was not necessary for guides to ask participants about their sea swimming confidence, to carry a VHF radio or to work with an assistant.

However Dorset Council's barrister Tom Horder said coasteering had no national governing body, no approved code of practice and set its own safety standards.

Former Land & Wave director David Mutton gave evidence at the hearing

In submissions to the coroner, he said Mr Allen should demand changes to the National Coasteering Charter, which contains safety advice.

He said coasteering guides should normally work in pairs, should carry radios and should carefully assess whether participants are fit to swim in the sea.

Dorset Coroner's Service said Mr Allen would produce a Prevention of Future Deaths report with safety recommendations within two weeks.

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