‘I looked down for less than a minute’

A heartbroken dad had looked away for “less than a minute” when his six-yearold son tragically fell into the River Stour and drowned, an inquest has heard. Little Lucas Dobson had tried to step from a jetty onto a moored boat when he slipped into the gap between them and disappeared beneath the surface of the water.

His body was found in the river four days later. An inquest into his death heard that Lucas had been spending time with his father, Nathan Dobson, in Sandwich when he went missing on Saturday, August 17. Mr Dobson told the hearing on Thursday that he was working on one of a number of boats by the river, while one of his friends, James Fromage, was barbecuing on the jetty, and another, Pete Snelson, was fishing nearby. Lucas was one of a number of children who had been playing by the river, and he tried to climb onto one of the boats with them. Fighting back tears, Mr Dobson said: “I looked down for less than a minute, and then I heard a commotion. I stood up and saw the look on James’ face, and he said it was Lucas. “Before a blink of an eye they were in the water looking for him. I saw James and Pete get in the water and I looked which way the current was going and I went a few boats up to jump into the river.”

Mr Dobson - who told the hearing he was not a strong swimmer - went into the water a number of times in a bid to find his son, but without success.

Mr Fromage, at whose riverside property the boats were moored, told the inquest he had seen Lucas attempt to climb between the jetty and a boat. He said: “He went for the rail [of the boat] and lifted his foot and missed the rail and dropped, straight in feet-first. I dropped the barbecue tongs and jumped down to try and grab him but I could not get in the gap between the boat and the mooring.”

Recollecting the conditions in the river that summer’s afternoon, Mr Fromage told how the “surprisingly strong” current had carried him away from the spot where Lucas was last seen falling into the water. None of those present when the accident took place, including Lucas, were wearing lifejackets or other safety equipment.

Despite searching frantically for some time, the friends were

Nathan Dobson jumped into the river to find Lucas