He lost his own life to save his children
INQUEST HEARS HARROWING EVENTS AS FAMILY DAY OUT TURNED TO TRAGEDY
THE family of a devoted dadof-seven who drowned trying to rescue his children have thanked a hero coastguard officer and beach warden for saving his son and daughter.
Jonathan Stevens, 36, was visiting Barmouth beach with his children on August 2 when tragedy struck, an inquest in Caernarfon heard on Wednesday.
Two of the children – a boy and a girl – were in the sea on paddleboards when they got into difficulty in the water.
The self-employed plasterer of Woodside in Telford heard their cries for help and rushed into the water in a desperate bid to save them but, tragically, he got into difficulty himself.
Alexander Hill, a coastguard officer was off-duty and at the beach with his father and son when the tragedy occurred.
Mr Hill told the inquest he noticed people gathering along the shoreline and heard children screaming.
He said: “I saw the children 30 to 40 metres out.
“I could see that they were struggling in the water and at this point I wouldn’t say it was a calm sea, there was a ripple in the water.
“I called 999 and shouted to my dad to take hold of my son so I could give them a second-by-second account.
“I saw a man run full sprint past me and in to the sea but he kept drifting away from the kids and then disappeared.
“By now they were around 50 to 70 metres out and all three of them were about 20 metres away from each other.”
Two beach wardens then arrived at the scene and Mr Hill used their radio to call the harbour warden.
He then entered the water with one of the beach wardens and managed to reach the girl and bring her back to the beach. In the meantime, beach warden Marcus Jordan Hewlett arrived at the scene and managed to reach the boy.
Mr Hewlett said: “When I reached him he said ‘thank you but you need to find my dad.’
“I brought him back to the shore and went back in towards where he saw the young boy had been looking and I saw someone floating in the distance.
“I approached him and picked him up but there was no response.
“I can’t say how far out I was but I know it felt like it took ages to get back to the beach.
“I tried to get him back as fast as I could but it was a struggle because I was trying to keep his head above the water.”
Mr Stevens was airlifted to hospital but was pronounced dead at around 3.15pm in Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor shortly after arriving.
Acting senior coroner Katie Sutherland said: “Mr Stevens entered the water to save his children and got in to difficulty himself.
“In the attempt to save the children he became submerged in water, was brought to shore but sadly pronounced deceased at
A&E. “On the basis that he entered the sea to rescue his children and then he got into difficulty, his death is a result of misadventure – a deliberate act that unintentionally went wrong.
“It is a truly tragic case. He lost his own life trying to save his own children.
“It really shows the dangers of the sea and our coastline – even when conditions appear mild they may not be.
“I would like to echo the thanks to the witnesses and those who risked their lives that day to try to save his life.”
Mr Stevens’ partner, Laura Burford, thanked Mr Hall and Mr Hewlett for saving the children and attempting to save the Telford man.
His parents, Faith and Raymond Stevens, said their son did what any parent would have done in that situation.
“He was a proud father and a devoted son, brother and friend.”
One witness heard Mr Stevens shout: “They’re my kids, I’ve got to do something” before he waded in to the sea where he began “waving his arms” and asking for help.
FOUR of Wales’ best-loved festivals – Festival of Voice, FOCUS Wales, Other Voices Cardigan and Aberystwyth Comedy Festival – have joined forces in lockdown to create Gŵyl 2021; a free, online festival packed with unforgettable music and comedy, embracing diversity and dialogue. Filmed or recorded over recent months in Wales and internationally within Coronavirus guidelines, Gŵyl 2021 will be broadcast online on www.bbc. co.uk/gwyl2021 across the weekend of 6-7 March 2021.
An extraordinary digital gathering for these exceptional times, Gŵyl 2021 shines a light of determination and resilience from the creative scene in Wales. Following almost a year of physical distancing, Gŵyl 2021 marks an emotional moment of unity – of artists and audiences, from Wales and the world. It recognises that our collective voice is a powerful sum of its parts.
In true festival style, Gŵyl 2021 will be a celebration of the established, and a discovery of the eclectic and the emerging, in Wales and further afield. The line-up includes contributions from Cate Le Bon in collaboration with Gruff Rhys, the award-winning Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Tim Burgess’ Listening Party, and Catrin Finch; plus BERWYN (BBC Music Sound of 2021), Carys Eleri (Adelaide Fringe Festival winner), Arlo Parks and Dani Rain, the drumming force behind Neck Deep.
Other highlights confirmed include Charlotte Adigéry, post-punk Welsh Music Prize winners Adwaith, Irish poet and art rock pioneer
Sinead O’Brien and Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Jordan Brookes; Welsh Language Album of the Year winner Ani Glass, Dublin four-piece Sprints, Cardiff-based Guinean griot musician N’Famady Kouyate and sketch group Tarot. Dance company Jukebox Collective have also curated performances from reggae artist Aleighcia, RnB/soul artist Faith and more.
The festival also makes international links as FOCUS Wales hosts artists from across Canada as well as exclusive, interactive performances, and S4C broadcasts exclusive highlights from Other Voices Cardigan.
All rehearsals, filming and recording have taken or will take place within local Coronavirus guidelines.
The full line up and schedule will be confirmed, and the festival itself will be broadcast across the weekend, on www.bbc.co.uk/gwyl2021 and on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru. Content from the festival will be available to view again for seven days on the BBC platform.