‘All we have left are beautiful memories’
Parents’ Jordan Veira tribute as inquest hears calls for river safety changes
The parents of Jordan Veira paid tribute to their son as an inquest into his death heard suggestions for improving river safety last week.
The 15-year-old Furze Platt pupil died after getting into trouble in the water near Bourne End at the end of May.
A coroner at Reading Town Hall concluded his death was an accidental drowning at an inquest on Thursday, November 4.
Police testified about the search for Jordan, which took around 12 hours.
Family members including Jordan's father expressed frustration over the amount of time it took to find Jordan and the manner of the search – but coroner Heidi Connor said it was very unlikely that the teenager could have been saved if found sooner.
Mrs Connor concluded that there was no evidence of third-party involvement.
A river safety volunteer was invited to give his expert opinion on needed safety measures on that stretch of the Thames.
He suggested floatation equipment, markers and signage to help deter would-be wild swimmers and expressed a need for more lifeguard presence on dangerous stretches of inland water.
Though there were many witnesses, adults were unaware that Jordan was in trouble as he ‘looked calm’ while in the water, the inquest heard.
The landowner for the area (Cock Marsh) is the National Trust, which was also called to the inquest.
Its representative expressed doubt over the efficacy of signage but offered to work with Jordan’s parents to find a solution to attempt to prevent future tragedies. He also said that in his view, the best way to prevent future such incidents is a campaign of education in schools.
However, Jordan’s mother impressed upon the Trust her view on the importance of signage.
Both parents said that it would be worth placing one sign if it could save one life, and that they needed to feel that something was being done to stop this from happening to other people’s children.
Jordan’s parents gave tributes to Jordan at the end of the inquest, saying his death had caused ‘a gaping hole in our hearts’. He had been looking forward to his 16th birthday, taking part in his school prom at Furze Platt, entering sixth form and working towards becoming a mechanical engineer in later life.
An expert on water safety called for more safety measures to be introduced by landowners during the inquest into the death of teenager Jordan Veira.
The inquest into the death of the 15-year-old – who drowned after he got into difficulty in the water near Bourne End in May – was held last week.
As part of proceedings, Steve Collins, head of unit at the Kingston Maritime Voluntary Service (a charity that works to promote safety on the Thames) gave his opinion on what needs to change to prevent future incidents.
The day that Jordan was seen disappearing below the surface of the water, May 31, it was about 25 degrees outside. River temperatures remained at 16 degrees.
This temperature is one degree above the threshold for ‘high risk’ of cold-water shock.
“These things are predictable,” Mr Collins said.
“There’s a direct relationship to the weather. My heart drops each time I hear there’s going to be a (hot spell).
“On days when there are lots of children at the river, we have spoken to them about the dangers. But the temptation for them to jump in is irresistible.
“Very often, children ignore our advice. They will ask, ‘Where are the signs?’” Mr Collins said.
Senior coroner for Berkshire, Heidi Connor, noted that the river does not appear especially dangerous.
“There’s nothing to indicate that there’s a deep bit further in, and there are no warning signs at the scene at all,” she said. “There was nothing in that area to indicate the risk.”
“My understanding is that it’s the landowner’s responsibility to put up those signs,” Mr Collins said.
He added that there should have been a throw rope nearby – a buoyant rope of about 20-25 metres that is light enough to be easily thrown to someone far away.
Another option, he said, is a string of buoys which indicate the deepest part of the water.
It was determined that installing these would be the responsibility of the National Trust, which owns the land where Jordan drowned.
Despite suggesting these measures, Mr Collins added that the best solution would be to have ‘qualified and equipped’ lifeguards on the banks and in boats.
However, Sibongile Veira, Jordan’s mother, expressed her opinion on the importance of signage or other visual cues.
“If I see a sign (indicating) the dip in the water and I can see that anyone else’s children are going in, I would say, ‘be careful,’” she said.
Concerns were also raised that risk assessments for the water are not dynamic, reflecting changes such as increased water levels from rain.
One issue is that not everyone in the water looks to be in trouble. At the inquest, a witness statement described seeing Jordan in the water but thought that he ‘looked calm.’
There were multiple witnesses, including 13 children, but some key witnesses were unaware Jordan was in trouble.
“There’s a common misconception of someone in trouble waving their hands in the air,” said Mr Collins.
“Usually, you can only see their head.”