Body of missing man was found two days later in River Derwent

THE circumstances leading up to a Derby man being found dead in the River Derwent have been investigated.

Lee Leslie Astle, of Darley Drive, was found in a stretch of the river near Chester Green following the floods that affected the city in November 2019.

The 42-year-old had been reported missing by a concerned care worker two days prior, yet police only officially registered him as a missing person hours before his body was found.

The inquest into Mr Astle’s death at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court yesterday heard that when police were first contacted, his disappearance was categorised as a “missing person not a risk” – a subjective system which has now been scrapped.

Described as a man “who showed lots of love for his family”, Mr Astle was found by a fisherman after record high water levels in the river had receded. It is unknown the exact series of events which led Mr Astle, who couldn’t swim, to end up in the River Derwent.

Discussing Mr Astle’s mental health, Derbyshire NHS Healthcare nurse Sarah Gorman told the court Lee had a condition where he would experience episodes of paranoia, which got worse when he had to move back into his flat in Darley Abbey in October 2019.

She said: “He thought all his neighbours were against him, he did sometimes know it was the condition making him think like that”.

One of Mr Astle’s doctors, Dr Nitesh Painuly, spoke at the hearing saying he had no concerns over Mr Astle hurting himself or wanting to end his life.

Dr Painuly said: “He always wanted to get better, that was something remarkable that despite all his limitations, he wasn’t afraid to reach out for help”.

It is unknown when exactly Mr Astle died, but his last contact with anyone was a text message sent to Ms Gorman on November 13, 2019.

Food products such as bread and milk in his flat with expiry dates around this date, along with a post-mortem examination, led police to conclude that Mr Astle most likely had been in the water since November 13.

Despite this, his body was found eight days later after receding water levels from the flooding revealed it entangled with branches in the River Derwent. The 2019 floods also claimed the life of former High Sheriff of Derbyshire Annie Hall.

Mr Astle, who at the time was living alone, was only reported missing on November 20, and it took police a further two days to officially register him as a missing person.

Speaking on issues highlighted by the case, Detective Sergeant Andy Murphy said a fully staffed missing person unit had been established earlier this year to avoid similar situations.

Det Sgt Murphy said: “Regardless of police action, which was taken or not taken, it is more than likely Lee was dead before police were alerted. This does not mean things which happened in this case can be overlooked, however. He [Mr Astle] should have been classed as a missing person on initial contact. I am very, very confident if Lee was reported missing today, he would be treated accordingly”.

Concluding, assistant coroner Sabyta Kaushal determined Mr Astle’s death to be an accident. The medical cause of death was drowning.

Ms Kaushal said: “Forward planning from Lee, such as booking medical appointments, support the conclusion that he didn’t plan to take his own life.

“As someone who couldn’t swim, it is possible Lee fell in the river and got entangled and sadly died.”