Tributes after Daniel’s tragic canal death
Tributes have been paid to a promising young footballer who drowned in a canal while on a trip to Amsterdam after an inquest was held into his death.
Peterlee man Daniel Sirrell, 21, was on holiday with five pals in the Dutch city for a one-night stay in May last year, an inquest at Crook Civic Centre heard.
But Daniel was seperated from his friends and after hearing sirens from a nearby canal, they rushed to the scene to find Daniel being pulled from the water.
Sadly, he was pronounced dead at a hospital in the city hours later.
No witnesses came forward to say they saw him fall or pushed into the water.
An inquest into Daniel’s death, at Crook Civic Centre, heard from Daniel’s friend Daniel Mason.
Mr Mason told the hearing that at about midnight on Saturday, May 19, Daniel, who played football for Harton and Westoe FC in South Tyneside, became separated from friends.
“We heard sirens, ambulances and police and when we walked down we got told someone was in the river.
“There were divers in the river trying to get someone out.
“Obviouslywhentheydid bring a person out we could see it was Daniel.”
Messages from a German tourist to Daniel’s girlfriend Samantha were also read out at the hearing.
They read: “Your friend was holding onto a boat in the water.
“My friend then jumped into the water and your friend let go of the boat and paddled into the middle.”
They added: “The divers brought him out of the water before our eyes and tried to revive him. “His friends near us wept. “He was under the water for over 10 minutes.
“For us it was a terrible trip which will never be forgotten.”
A post-mortem examination concluded that Daniel had drowned.
After the hearing his mum Karen described former East Durham College student Daniel as a “lovely lad” and added: “He was amazing.” His sister Stephanie Beard added: “He was a cheeky chappy and I loved the banter with him.”