Ex-postie died on sleepwalk along his old route

A RETIRED postman with a history of sleepwalking drowned when he set off by cycle on his old delivery route in the middle of the night and ended up in a fast-flowing river, an inquest heard.

John Sullivan, 66, climbed out of bed before 3am, got on his bike and pedalled off on his round while his wife was asleep.

The grandfather and father-of-two travelled a mile across Abergavenny, South Wales, before riding into a freezing river. His body was recovered seven hours later.

His wife Rose, 64, told how her husband of 39 years, pictured, was prone to sleepwalking, and had been found ‘outside the house on occasions not knowing how he had got there’. ‘I believe John had one of his episodes,’ she told a hearing at Newport Coroner’s Court.

When Mrs Sullivan had woken at 3.20am to discover her husband missing, along with his bike and helmet, she searched for him along his old route before calling the police. She said he ‘wasn’t dressed appropriately for a bike ride at that time of the morning’ because he hadn’t taken his fluorescent cycling jacket with him.

Later that morning, Mr Sullivan’s bike and helmet were found by a dog walker along the bank of the River Usk, about a mile from the family’s home. A helicopter search team recovered his body downstream at around 10am. A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as drowning.

The inquest heard Mr Sullivan had been a postman for 20 years and was regularly seen on his bike around the market town.

Mr Sullivan’s son Paul, 31, said the family had been ‘torn apart’ by the tragedy in February and added: ‘Anyone lucky enough to still have their dad in your life, tell him how much you love him. It really hurts when you can’t.’

Coroner David Bowen returned an open verdict at the inquest last week. He said no other conclusion could be made as there was ‘no evidence’ on just how Mr Sullivan had gone into the water.