Valentine Ikechukwu was having fun with friends on what was a hot April day before his tragic death
Valentine Ikechukwu, 16, died in April last year after swimming at Colwick Country Park’s West Lake(Image: Family handout/Nottinghamshire Police)
A teenager who tragically drowned while playing with friends at a Nottinghamshire park did not know how to swim, an inquest has heard.
Valentine Ikechukwu, 16, died on Wednesday, April 30, last year after he got into difficulty while swimming at Colwick Country Park’s West Lake.
The Nottingham College student was one of many people in the water on what was a warm 20C evening, but became “out of his depth” and could not be saved despite efforts from members of the public and a large-scale emergency service response.
An inquest into his death, held at Nottingham Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, February 10, heard how a friend tried in vain to help keep Valentine’s head above water when he got into trouble at around 5.20pm.
The teenager was eventually discovered by a police underwater search team at 7.55pm and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Julia Nokela, a witness who was visiting the park with the children at the time, said it was a “very busy” day at the park due to the warm weather, with Valentine among at least 10 people swimming in the lake.
The mum said the pontoons on the lake were “full of people” despite swimming not being permitted at the lakes unless through organised sessions.
After noticing Valentine, who was with a friend around 20-25 metres away from shore, was struggling, she shouted for help.
Ms Nokela said the teenager looked as though he was “climbing an invisible ladder” as he tried to keep his head above water.
“His head was going back like he was looking at the sky,” she said in a statement read out in court.
“I could see he was in trouble. Valentine was splashing and panicking and I could see his friend splashing too.”
Ms Nokela then went to fetch a nearby lifebuoy, which was being played with by two girls in the water at the time.
A multi-agency rescue operation was launched at the time
Two boys helped the mum retrieve the float, before she took off her dress and jumped into the lake to help Valentine, repeatedly diving down to try and find the teenager until emergency services arrived.
“I dived under the water to try and feel and find him with my hands but the water was so murky. I didn’t realise how deep the water was,” she said.
PC Steve Craner, who supervised Nottinghamshire Police’s diving team during the rescue effort, said Valentine was 16 metres from shore and 2.6 metres underwater when he was found at 7.55pm.
He said the teenager was a “non-swimmer” who had never had lessons, according to his parents.
PC Craner said this fact, as well as peer pressure, a “seemingly safe” swimming environment and a warm day were some of the factors that led to his death.
“He was clearly a non-swimmer out of his depth,” he said, adding there would have been “peer pressure to join his friends swimming in what looked like a safe swimming environment”.
Valentine’s family told the coroner they were concerned Valentine may have been pushed into drowning.
However, Detective Chief Inspector Gail Routledge said a “large-scale investigation” she led into the incident found no evidence of suspicious circumstances.
“There was no information to suggest in any shape or form that this death was suspicious,” she told the court via video link.
“It was very much fun until Valentine got into distress. There was no pressure to enter unwillingly,” she said.
Police officers, fire crews and paramedics were called to Colwick Country Park(Image: Nottingham Post/ Louis Dargavel-Corbett)
“There was an agreement they would all go swimming and a suggestion to his friends that he could swim.”
DCI Routledge also said there was no suggestion of any delays in helping Valentine from members of the public.
This included the two girls who were playing with the lifebuoy, who the detective said were unaware of the urgent situation before passing the buoy over “in a matter of seconds”.
Assistant coroner Karen Boyle said the lack of a buoy “did not materially contribute” to Valentine’s death.
Ruling his death as misadventure, she said he “voluntarily” entered the water in the knowledge that he could not swim.
“Valentine was enjoying his day with his friends. It was a hot sunny day and he had enjoyed bike riding with his friends and they all agreed to go to the lake to swim,” she said.
“He unexpectedly found himself in difficulty and was unable to stay afloat. He went underwater very rapidly and did not re-emerge and sadly drowned.”
Valentine’s aunt, Uche Okafor, previously told Nottinghamshire Live: “He was funny, he was a bit shy at first but when he got familiar with you, he was a different person.
“He was very respectful and he loved his siblings. He was a role model to all of them, as well as his cousins. He liked playing basketball with his friends. He was bright, full of love and life. Bad things only happen to good people. He was a very loving, sweet boy.
“He was a computer science student and he was brilliant. He knew everything about IT. Everything computer-related, we just left it to him. He was a very intelligent boy.
“Valentine will remain forever in our hearts. It’s heartbreaking that he passed away and we are devastated as a family.”
