A 42-YEAR-old Settle man who drowned at a local beauty spot was urged not to go into the water beforehand, an inquest was told.

Stephen Cliff was pulled from the River Ribble at Stainforth Foss by a 14-year-old Settle boy after getting into difficulties on the evening of July12 this year.

It appeared that Mr Cliff had waded into the water and slipped. The boy had advised him beforehand not to go in.

The level of the river had risen by six to eight inches and was flowing relatively fast after heavy rain the previous night, coroner Rob Turnbull said.

The boy had tried to ring 999 on his phone immediately, but was initially hampered by the lack of a signal, the inquest heard.

He had shouted for help from a man who was staying at a nearby caravan park and who was strolling along the river with his wife.

The man had put Mr Cliff into the recovery position and tried without success to resuscitate him. Mr Cliff was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics about 20 minutes later.

Mr Turnbull said that a toxicology report indicated there were no drugs or alcohol in Mr Cliff's system and there were no signs of trauma to the body.

PCSO Helen Montgomery, who had gone to the scene with police officers following a successful emergency call, told the coroner that the 14-year-old was very quiet and deeply upset by the incident, especially as he had known Mr Cliff, and she had taken him home. The boy had told her that Mr Cliff had been in the water for about four minutes.

Mr Turnbull recorded that Mr Cliff had drowned as the result of an accident.

Mr Cliff's mother Lyn Prince said she and her husband were deeply grateful to the boy for trying so hard to save her son's life and to PCSO Montgomery for the sensitive way she had dealt with the situation.