Darlington sportsman Jack Daykin drowned in Alpine river, inquest hears

Those were the words of Simon Daykin after an inquest into his son Jack’s death heard he drowned in a gorge during a holiday in the Alps.

Tree surgeon and all-round adventurer Jack Daykin went missing on May 30, last year, after going to look for his lost mobile phone in a ravine near the Koritnica River, in Slovenia.

Search for Darlington man Jack Daykin missing in Slovenian Alps

Tributes paid to Darlington man Jack Daykin, who died in Slovenia

A friend of the Darlington 23-year-old had gone downstream and was anxiously waiting on a bridge for him to return.

When he did not show up a search operation involving emergency services and rescue volunteers was launched between the mountain town of Bovec, in the Julian Alps, and Nova Gorica, on the Italian border.

Close relatives had travelled to Slovenia and were there when his body was found by a kayaker on June 4.

After a coroner ruled Jack’s death was accidental, Mr Daykin said: “Jack was very adventurous, he started doing sports with me when he was just six-years-old and from there we toured national championships.

“He would want us all to go on seeking out adventures, enjoying mother nature and her gifts, doing what you love and nourishing your soul.

“His funeral was a special day there were about 300 people which shows how popular he was. We had a courtege of about 30 campervans as that’s the type of scene Jack is from.”

Police officials in Slovenia described the terrain as steep and dangerous and said the river water level was high due to heavy rain in the weeks before Jack's disappearance. They also confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances and believed there was no third party involvement.

Post mortems in Slovenia and the UK found cuts, bruises and head injuries consistent with hitting a hard rough surface and both gave the cause of death as drowning.

Sitting at Crook Coroners’ Court on Monday, Assistant Coroner James Thompson said: “There were no witnesses so it is unknown if he entered of his own free will or lost his footing, therefore, I conclude it was an accident.”

Mr Daykin also commended the emergency services.

He said: “We are very grateful to the police, fire and mountain rescue services, Saint and Forster Funeral Services, Blue House Woodland Burials, Vane Arms at Long Newton and the Burns Pub in Darlington.

Following Jack’s death, there was a huge outpouring of support and grief on social media, including from friends in the tight-knit water sports community.

An accomplished sportsman and adventurer, Jack was widely respected for his achievements as a kite surfer from an early age.

He was shortlisted for a promising new talent prize at The Northern Echo’s celebration of grassroots sports, The Local Heroes Awards 2010, and won the outstanding achievement in sport category at Darlington’s Vibe Awards in 2011.

One of his proudest achievements came when he landed the British kitesurfing championship under 19 title in 2010, at just 15.

Following his death, one friend said: “He was a very enthusiastic and accomplished water man who was into all sorts of sports including wakeboarding and kitesurfing. He was very talented and regularly appeared on table of high jumpers and more than that he was very popular.”