Ed Farmer inquest: Students 'told to be discreet' about bar crawl

Ed Farmer was found unresponsive and taken to hospital, but died

Students were urged not to tell anyone about a bar crawl which ended with the death of an undergraduate, an inquest has heard.

Newcastle University student Ed Farmer, 20, died in hospital in December 2016.

Mr Farmer, of Leicester, had been on a night out organised by members of the Agricultural Society where heavy drinking was encouraged.

Student Henry Sweeting said freshers were warned by older students to be "mindful" of what they told others.

He told the inquest at Newcastle Civic Centre that younger students had been given the option to go home at the start of the evening but "no-one wanted to be the fresher who asked to leave".

'Anxious and nervous'

In a statement to police, Mr Sweeting, said: "I believe we would not be respected later if we left - we were all scared."

Another witness said some of those at the event had "felt anxious and nervous".

Guy Barker, a second-year student at the time, previously described how some first-years had their heads shaved, were sprayed with paint used to mark stock, and bobbed for apples in a mixture of urine and alcohol.

He agreed it was possible such events placed pressure on students to drink high volumes of alcohol in a short period of time.

Mr Barker added that students were not forced to attend and could leave at any time.

The inquest continues.