A teenager drowned during what was meant to be a light-hearted swimming race across the width of the River Ouse in York.
Thomas George Bruce-Gregg, who was 19, got into difficulty during the swim.
While his friend got safely back to the bank, he went under, an inquest was told today (Thursday).
It happened in the early hours of Friday, 27 June 2025.
A major search was launched, involving the police helicopter, the York Rescue Boat volunteers and North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service.
The inquest heard that shortly before the tragedy, Mr Bruce-Gregg was on the sandbank at Queen’s Staith next to the river with his friend, a young woman. They both lived at YMCA Ryedale in Norton, Malton.
At 2.42am CCTV captured them both going into the water and swimming towards the centre of the river, one in front of the other.
A bystander on a boat going under Ouse Bridge then called 999 to say that two people were in the water. They “appeared to be very drunk and were swimming in a state of undress”.
By 2.49am, the footage shows the woman swimming back to the sandbank but Mr Bruce-Gregg can no longer be seen.
The woman then rang 999.
Coroner Catherine Devereux told the court: “She informed the call handler that both her and Tom were very drunk, having consumed a considerable amount of alcohol, and stated that they were going to race across the river and back – and that she could not see Tom.”
Police officers arrived. The woman then re-entered the water to try to find Mr Bruce-Gregg. An officer threw a throw line to her and pulled her back to the shore.
Volunteers from York Rescue Boat were called out. They scoured the river but were unable to locate Mr Bruce-Gregg.
The police underwater search team recovered his body from the riverbed at about 8.30am that morning and he was pronounced dead by paramedics ten minutes later.
A post mortem confirmed he died by drowning, and that he had alcohol in his blood at a level roughly three and a half times the drink driving limit for England. That could have impaired his judgement and increased his risk of drowning, the inquest heard.
Shortly before they entered the water, CCTV footage captured the woman slapping Tom across the face several times.
She was arrested on suspicion of assault and taken to York police station.
Detective Sergeant Matthew Dobson then reviewed the footage. It became clear that Mr Bruce-Gregg had consented to being slapped, putting his hands behind his back and placing his head forward.
The pair both seemed “in good spirits”. There was no evidence of any injury, and it was decided to take no further action against the woman. She was released without charge.
In her conclusion, coroner Ms Devereux said the police had confirmed the death was not suspicious.
Mr Bruce-Gregg, who was single and worked in catering, entered the River Ouse while under the influence of alcohol.
The cause of death was drowning and her conclusion was misadventure.
She offered her condolences to Mr Bruce-Gregg’s parents who were in court for the inquest.