Coroner breaks down in tears as he tells heartbroken parents it was likely their son, 18, died a hero when he drowned in the River Severn during freshers' week trying to help someone who cried for help
- Student Tom Jones had been on a night out with friends in Worcester city centre
- He called friends to say he was on his was back to the student accomodation
- The 18-year-old never returned and his body was found in the River Severn
- Worcestershire Coroner Geraint Williams said he had 'likely died a hero'
A coroner broke down in tears as he told the grieving parents of a university student that it was likely their son had drowned in a river trying to save someone he heard calling for help.
Primary Education student Tom Jones was last seen in Worcester city centre after making his way back to student accommodation after an evening out with his friends during freshers' week.
Audio from CCTV in the area picked up a faint sound of a person shouting for help and it is believed that the 18-year-old had followed the sound to the River Severn in order to help the person in distress.
Worcestershire Coroner Geraint Williams wept as he looked at a framed photograph of Tom, and told his parents it was likely their son died a hero.
Tom Jones (pictured above) had called his friends when he was on his way home but never returned
On his way home, Tom had sent a photo to his friends at 3.45am on September 10 2018 and called saying he was two minutes away, but he never arrived.
Police launched a major search for Tom, who had moved from the small town of Bromsgrove to Worcester, just days earlier.
He was due to begin a Primary Education course at the city's university and had been out with friends when he disappeared.
Tom's parents Ian and Victoria (pictured above) said the last few months had been 'unbearable'
Despite his family's desperate hopes for Tom to return unharmed, his body was found in the river on September 28.
Two 20-year-old men were arrested on suspicion of murder but were later released without charge.
An inquest today, Tuesday 22 February heard Tom may have tumbled into the River Severn after responding to screaming coming from the riverbank.
Coroner Geraint Williams (pictured) said there Tom had died a hero
Recording an open verdict Mr Williams said: 'I have been doing this job for 30 years and it still gets me, he's a good looking boy.
'He died in the River Severn in Worcester on September 19, 2018, in circumstances that have not been fully explained.
'I therefore can't make any definitive finding about that.
'It was the early hours of September 19, he would have died very quickly - he was found on September 28 the cause of which I accept was drowning.
'I can't say it was an accident and I have to reach an open conclusion.
'From what I have heard it is likely that he heard someone calling for help and went to see if he could help.
'This will never go away for you but it does get easier to live with and that is all we can hope for - please accept my condolences.'
The inquest heard a post mortem found Tom was twice the legal drink drive limit and had an 'extremely low concentration' of cocaine in his system which probably came from handling contaminated bank notes.
PC Christopher Buffery, of West Mercia Police, told the inquest CCTV tracked the final moments of Tom's fateful journey back to his student accommodation.
He said: 'We can see Thomas walking along Angel Street and into McDonald's.
Rescue workers were deployed to try and help find Tom, who went missing after a night out with friends
'He then goes to the bridge and the camera catches him where we can see grass and a bench.
'We could see that the last time we saw Thomas was at 3.49am and the likelihood was that Thomas ended up in the river at this time.
'There are two working scenarios, on one he had gone to the river to relieve himself, because where he went was slightly out of the direct line or sight.
'The other scenario, we were aware that there had been a shout for help on one of the cameras and if he went to help a person in need, he became a person in need himself.'
Tom's parent's Ian, 51, and Victoria, 53, who attended the hearing at Stourport-on-Severn, Worceshire, released a statement after the verdict.
They said: 'We accept the findings and the subsequent conclusion following today's hearing.
'The past few months have been unbearably difficult in trying to come and come to terms with life without Tom.
'We very much appreciate the overwhelming support from all involved including the media during this time and trust this will remain while we continue to rebuild our lives and work around the devastating loss of Tom.'
