Boy aged seven drowned in pool at farmhouse party
A BOY of seven drowned in a wealthy businessman’s pool during a birthday party celebration, an inquest heard
Harvey Worgan was found face down in the water at the farmhouse of landscaping contractor Nigel Price.
A coroner was told Harvey and his parents, Ben and Lucy Worgan, were among 50 guests invited to a surprise birthday bash for Mr Price’s partner Jane.
Harvey was allowed to go swimming but had been told by his father to stay at the shallow end. Mr Worgan then left the boy briefly to speak with Mr Price, who he was employed by as a construction worker.
But the youngster was found soon afterwards at the bottom of the pool by another guest, who dived in to try to rescue him. Par- amedics were called to the property in Llandyssil, Powys, but the boy was pronounced dead at royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Mr Worgan, 30, said he had lost ‘not just a son but my best friend’. In a statement read to the inquest in Welshpool, he described his son as a boy with a lovely smile. Har- vey loved tractors and diggers and often went to work with his father on Saturdays, he said.
Party guest Dyfrig Huw rees told how he shouted for help and plunged into the pool after spotting the boy in the water.
He said: ‘I saw a figure at the bottom of the pool face down near the deep end. I dived down, but missed him. I tried using my feet and then grabbed him and got him by the side.’
Mr Worgan, who had worked for Mr Price on the day of the tragedy, June 17, said he last saw his son walking around the edge of the pool before going to speak to the businessman.
A post-mortem examination found Harvey died from drowning. The boy’s grandfather robin Worgan said other children were also at the party and that the tragedy ‘happened in a matter of seconds’.
recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Andrew Barkley said: ‘ These are very tragic circumstances and I extend my sincerest condolences to the family.
At the particular time of the incident no- one specifically saw Harvey. It seems to me that Harvey was only out of sight for a matter of moments. There’s no clear evidence how he got to the pool, no indication that he fell in, no indication he choked on the food or how long he was in the pool before he was spotted.’
Neighbours of Mr and Mrs Worgan described them as ‘brilliant parents’ who have been devastated by the tragedy. The couple have two other children, Kerry, nine, and six-year-old Harry.
A homeowner who lives near the family in Abermule, Powys, said: ‘They have been through a terrible time after what was a tragic accident. Harvey was a lovely child, always smiling and giving people the thumbs up as he rode around on his bike.’