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'Daredevil' 10-year-old drowned in river
12.08.09
A 10-year-old boy was swept to his death after getting out of his depth in a notorious stretch of river where there were no warning signs, an inquest heard today.
Tom Haile, who had "no fear at all" and wanted to join the police, was carried away and drowned while swimming with two relatives in the River Severn.
His cousin, Daniel Webb, 16, who was with him in the water at Arlingham, Gloucestershire, last July, told how he fought to save him, despite being sucked under himself.
County Coroner Alan Crickmore recorded a verdict of accidental death on the youngster, from Hardwicke, Gloucester, and warned others of the danger of "innocent behaviour" in rivers.
After the inquest at Shire Hall, Gloucester, Tom's mother, Jessica Haile, 30, who described her son as a "daredevil" during the hearing, called for signs to be placed beside the river to warn of the shifting riverbed.
At the time of Tom's death she said he was a "brilliant" mathematician who enjoyed tag-rugby.
