Amsterdam party boat organiser wanted to rescue drowning clubber

Neil Stewart's body was recovered two weeks after he fell into the canal

A party boat DJ told how he wanted to jump into a Dutch canal to save a drowning man but that thoughts of his family stopped him, an inquest heard.

Father-of-two Neil Stewart, 30, from Newcastle, died in the Noordzeekanaal, near Amsterdam, in November 2017.

DJ Martin Tomlinson told an inquest in Newcastle he took off his shoes to jump in the water but thoughts of his 12-year-old daughter stopped him.

Witnesses have said Mr Stewart jumped in following a fracas on the boat.

Mr Stewart, who had taken cocaine and cannabis was partying at the BTID - Bounce Til I Die - dance event with his fiancee Chelsea Dixon who had arranged the Amsterdam weekend as a surprise.

Mr Tomlinson, who also organised the event, told Coroner Karen Dilks he was aware there had been an incident involving his brother and Mr Stewart, which made him cut his set short.

Heard shouting

He said he then became aware that someone had gone in the water and he ran to tell the Dutch captain to stop the boat, the inquest was told.

Mr Tomlinson told the hearing he heard shouting and wanted to try to rescue Mr Stewart.

"I was ready to go into the water," he told the inquest.

Then he said he thought of his daughter, aged 12 at the time, and his wife.

"I thought, 'I cannot do that to them' - it was cold, it was dark, it was grim."

The party boat began in Amsterdam

Mr Stewart's body was recovered two weeks after he went into the water.

The hearing, which started on Monday, previously heard how there was an emergency rescue boat on the top deck of the vessel but it was not launched.

Asked about it being deployed, Mr Tomlinson said the skipper shook his head.

Mr Stewart's mother Alma Stewart told the inquest she had a number of questions about his death, including how he came to be in the canal, how long he was in the water before he went under and whether deploying the safety boat would have saved his life.

The inquest continues.