A teenager died after trying to swim across a river in York, an inquest heard.
Thomas George Bruce-Gregg, 19, drowned after entering the River Ouse from sand banks in Queen's Staith in the city centre early in the morning of June 27, 2025.
An inquest at Northallerton Coroner's Court on Thursday (August 6) heard that police were called at 2.48am and the York Rescue Boat was at the scene but Thomas could not be found.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the police helicopter were also involved in the multi-agency rescue operation.
Searches of the riverbank were carried out but neither police nor the crew on the water were able to locate the teenager.
Thomas was found by a police diver at the bottom of the river at 8.23am and taken to the riverbank where his death was confirmed a few minutes later.
Assistant coroner for North Yorkshire and York Catherine Devereaux returned a short-form narrative conclusion of death by misadventure.
The hearing was told that Thomas, who was single and worked in catering, was in York with a friend from the YMCA Ryedale in Riverside View, Norton, where they both lived, and was seen entering the water around 2.42am.
The hearing heard from police that CCTV footage showed Thomas and the friend sitting on Queen's Staith between 2.20am and 2.30am, and a boat passing under the bridge a few minutes later shone its searchlight in their direction.
A significant emergency presence was in King' Staith on June 27, 2025.
(Image: Kevin Glenton)
The inquest heard that a call to police from a bystander came in at 2.48am and stated a man and woman were swimming in the Ouse and appeared "drunk and in a state of undress" and the volunteer-run York Rescue Boat was notified.
Detective Sergeant Matthew Dobson said in a statement heard at the hearing that at 2.50am, Thomas was not visible to cameras from the opposite King's Staith.
The friend called police soon after and said she could no longer see Thomas, saying they had been "going to race across the river and back".
Police were called to the scene at 2.48am and the inquest heard that the officer dispatched could only see the friend sitting on the banks who told him Thomas was in the middle of the river.
The inquest heard that the officer went back to get a rescue line and torch and as he returned saw that the friend had re-entered the water.
She was returned to the sand bank after grabbing the rescue line the officer threw to her.
Despite the continued searches on the riverbank and by York Rescue Boat, Thomas was not found.
The friend was arrested on suspicion of assault and later released with no further action after police concluded there were no suspicious circumstances, the inquest heard.
A postmortem examination revealed signs consistent with drowning and a blood alcohol level three and a half times the drink driving limit, the inquest was told.
Assistant coroner Ms Deveraux said Thomas had a history of alcohol misuse, and the presence of alcohol could have affected his behaviour.