Man, 45, drowned after falling into fishing lake

A trip to a fishing lake in Marshland St James ended in tragedy.

Anthony Phillip Williams, 45, died from drowning after falling in from a wooden platform jutting out from the bank.

He was pulled from the water by a fellow angler but died the following day in Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The events from May 23 were recalled in an inquest into Mr Williams' death, held in Norwich last Friday.

It heard that Mr Williams had a history of epilepsy and was prone to seizures. And he had suffered a leg injury in recent years after "getting in with the wrong crowd" - supposed friends said to have abused him and taken advantage of his vulnerable and generous nature.

However, support worker David Johnson, of Wisbech's Caerus Care Ltd, said Mr Williams was doing well after moving into supported accommodation in Morton Avenue, March, in early 2019.

It was highlighted that Mr Williams, known as Tony, was unsupported and free to do as he wished during the daytime.

He was said to be a competent angler and had been fishing alone on many occasions. His first-ever visit to Buttonhole Lake in May had been Mr Johnson's suggestion.

Giving evidence, the support worker said he dropped off Mr Williams at the lake en route to taking out another client for the day.

He had waited while Mr Williams set up his equipment and then returned to his vehicle.

As he was reversing out, another angler - Mark Turner - rushed to tell him that the man he had just left was in the lake and the two of them ran back.

Mr Johnson told the hearing: "When we got there I said 'where is he?' Then we saw the soles of his shoes."

Mr Turner waded in with a life-saving aid and pulled Mr Williams out.

"Tony was bleeding from the head," said Mr Johnson. "I cleared his nose and gave him mouth to mouth. Some water came out and blood."

Mr Johnson began CPR before calling for an ambulance while Mr Turner took over resuscitation.

By the time he arrived at QEH, Mr Williams had suffered cardiac arrest and was unconscious.

A post mortem gave the cause of death as drowning as a consequence or result of epilepsy.

However, Jacqueline Lake, senior coroner for Norfolk, ruled that there was no evidence of epilepsy on that day.

"He may have had a seizure or he may simply have fallen," she added.

Giving a short narrative conclusion, she said: "Tony Williams died after going into the lake and drowned."