Student not used to drinking drowned after having four Jagerbombs

He drowned in a freezing lake on his university campus.

A man, 19, drowned in a freezing lake on his university campus after getting drunk, an inquest into his death heard.

Daniel Williams got into trouble after he attempted to make his way home alone through five inches of fresh snow in the early hours of January 31.

Mr Williams, who was not a regular drinker, accidentally plunged into the icy waters of the Whiteknights Lake in Reading, the coroner ruled.

The second-year computer sciences student, who was from Sutton, Surrey, was found on February 5 following an extensive police search of the lake, just hundreds of yards away from University of Reading’s student union block.

His mobile phone and wallet were still in his pockets.

Senior Coroner for Berkshire Heidi Connor said: ‘It seems to me that the circumstances of Dan’s death are tragic but very clear.

‘On the night of January 30, he went out with friends, doing what students do around the world: he was enjoying himself, drinking alcohol at the student club.

‘He came late in life to alcohol. Drinking alcohol when you are not used to drinking alcohol can have a more dramatic effect.’

Mr Williams, who also worked as a lifeguard, had ordered four Jagerbombs, a mixture of Jagermeister and an energy drink, for himself, before he disappeared.

Fellow student Rebecca Jones saw Mr Williams standing near to the front of the dance floor in the Cheese Room and clinging onto a railing in front of the DJ.

She said: ‘I saw he was very blank in his face as if he was staring at us.

‘It appeared as if he was a zombie and if you jumped at him he would not have moved.’

Nobody saw Mr Williams leave the student bar and by the evening of January 31, his housemates had become so concerned they contacted the police and reported him as missing.

Coroner Mrs Connor said the student had no drugs in his system but did have 210mg of alcohol per 110ml of blood, two-and-a-half times the drink-driving limit.

She said: ‘He did have a relatively high blood alcohol level. In this line of work, I have seen worse than this, but it is undoubtedly high.’

A post mortem examination gave the cause of death as drowning while under the influence of alcohol.

Mrs Connor ruled Mr Williams died as a result of an accident while under the influence of alcohol.

Mr Williams’ mother told the coroner: ‘He was a wonderful son. He was genuine, principled, universally loved and liked by everyone who knew him.

His father added: ‘If girls needed to walk home from the party, Daniel was the person who would walk them home and make sure they got home.

‘The tragedy here is that there was nobody to walk him home when he was in that state. We are all heartbroken that he is no longer with us.’