'More could die' at Welsh beach where boy drowned coroner fears

Wales Online

21-05-2025

'More could die' at Welsh beach where boy drowned coroner fears
Having a lifeguard on duty could have deterred David Ejimofor, 15, from jumping into the water from the pier at Aberavon, an inquest heard today
David Ejimofor died on Monday, June 19, 2023 after he'd jumped from the high pier alongside friends at Aberavon beach in Port Talbot
(Image: South Wales Police )
A coroner has told an inquest into the death of a 15-year-old who died at a Welsh beach that he is concerned similarly fatal incidents could happen without intervention. David Ejimofor, 15, died on June 19, 2023, after jumping into the water at Aberavon's small beach from the pier while celebrating the end of exam season.
The court heard people often use the pier to jump into the sea even though the pier should not be used for that purpose. And despite the pier being known to be used as a de facto diving platform the little beach is still not manned by a lifeguard even in warm months which coroner Edward Ramsay has been critical of during the three-day inquest at Swansea Coroners' Court.
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David, a St Joseph's Comprehensive School pupil, had been visibly anxious and nervous and had previously googled terms which showed he was a novice swimmer, but he jumped into the water after his friends who were also jumping in from the pier had encouraged him to do so.
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A gifted weightlifter and track athlete, David was not a typical 15-year-old and was far too heavy for his friends who could not keep him afloat. He sank to the bottom of the seabed and was submerged in the water, emergency services believe, for up to 10 minutes.
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Despite the best efforts of members of the public, including paddleboarder and off-duty police officer Tyler Rowland who rescued him from the seabed and instructed his friends to help swim him back to shore with the help of a life ring which had been thrown from the pier, David was pronounced dead at the beach. A post mortem examination conducted by Dr John Williams found he'd died of drowning.
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A popular member of his community and a supremely talented young man, David is missed by many
(Image: John Myers )
Mr Ramsay told the final day of the inquest: 'David was reassured he would be okay, but I make no criticism of David's friends. There is no basis for me to do so. Data extracted from David's mobile phone shows he was anticipating swimming that day at the location of the little beach.
'On entering the water he sadly found himself in immediate difficulty. His swimming ability was not good and there may also have been an element of cold water shock as panic ensued.
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'I find it too speculative to say David could have been rescued by a lifeguard after entering the water. The point is he shouldn't have been able to jump from the pier or the breakwater in the first place.
The news of David's death rocked the local school community in Port Talbot in 2023
(Image: John Myers )
'There was a lack of effective deterrence on the day preventing David and his friends from using the pier or breakwater in a way it was not designed for. There was no barrier, there was inadequate signage, there was no lifeguard present.
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'If there had been a lifeguard stationed there for the purpose of preventing people jumping into the water from the breakwater it is possible that would have prevented David from doing so. He was already cautious about doing so.'
The RNLI has documented in its own assessments of the little beach at Aberavon that they have had to speak to youngsters who jump off the pier into the water. And the court heard the issues at the beach still exist today.
The inquest had heard from the RNLI's regional lead for Wales and the west Peter Rooney who confirmed the little beach at Aberavon still isn't manned by lifeguards even though it has been historically.
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Since David's death the owner of the pier Associated British Holdings Ltd has installed a gate with the intention of preventing people from accessing the pier for the purposes of jumping into the water, but on a site visit Mr Rooney said it was easy for most people to climb over the gate.
He painted a picture of members of the public effectively being able to do what they like despite the potential risk to life, and explained the RNLI would need to increase its resources significantly if they were expected to regularly post lifeguards there. The coroner said he was sufficiently worried enough to write a prevention of future deaths report which will be made public soon.
David's parents Alex and Maria Ejimofor visiting tributes that were left for their son at Aberavon beach
(Image: John Myers )
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Following David's death Neath Port Talbot council asked the RNLI to conduct a risk assessment of the beach. The assessment which is used by the RNLI across the country measured in-water population, strength of the tide and the number of conflicting activities at the small beach and concluded there was a low to medium risk which did not require a lifeguard at that point.
Mr Ramsay had questioned whether the fact David died at the beach and that other youngsters often use the pier to jump into the water should be evidence enough the risk was higher. On Wednesday in his summing up of the inquest he said: 'Proper consideration of lifeguard attendance has been lacking and a lifeguard should probably have been there at the time of David's death.
'I haven't been provided with a satisfactory explanation for the issues raised regarding the concerns about the absence of lifeguards at the pier after 6pm. The reasoning this is not in place is almost entirely absent in my judgement.'
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The family of David Ejimofor, who died after getting into difficulty in the water at Aberavon Beach, near Port Talbot, visiting foral tributes and messages of support
(Image: John Myers )
The coroner recorded a formal conclusion of misadventure. He summed up: 'At 20.05 on June 19, 2023 at the little beach in Aberavon, David Ejimofor died having drowned after jumping into the sea from the breakwater to which he had effectively unrestricted and undeterred access.
'The breakwater should not have been used for that purpose but was known to have been used by local children and teenagers, especially when the weather was good. In the past lifeguards have been stationed at or around the pier to deter this activity. But no lifeguard was present at the time that David jumped. Had there been one it is possible he would not have jumped and therefore would not have drowned.'
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Mr Ramsay added 'David was a treasured son, brother, grandson, cousin and friend' and praised the actions of members of the public and the emergency services who did everything they could to try to save him.
In a statement issued after the hearing an RNLI spokesperson said: "Our thoughts and sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of David. As a charity, we exist to prevent drowning so that nobody suffers the devastating loss of a loved one in this way.
"This tragic incident happened on private land. The RNLI works with landowners and councils to provide lifeguard patrols when they are requested by the landowners and have explicit permission to do so.
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Providing lifeguard cover is one of a range of safety measures a landowner or council can implement to mitigate risk.
"Other measures such as permanent signage or beach safety education are important as lifeguards cannot be everywhere all of the time. This is why the RNLI invests in sharing water safety advice with the public, so people have the information they need to keep themselves safe.
"The RNLI works closely with councils and landowners to determine when the charity will provide lifeguard patrols. RNLI lifeguard patrols routinely operate between the hours of 10am-6pm, because this is the time period which incident data tells us is the busiest and highest risk period."
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