A MAN who had been with two children in a dinghy during a day out at a lake had drowned when he and a boy of five ended up in the water, an inquest heard.

The hearing at Caernarfon on January 27 was told that college lecturer Phillip Gooderham, 53, of Highland Avenue, Aston Park, Deeside, died last May.

Rosemarie Connolly, 50, said she got the boy out of Bala lake after a young onlooker alerted her to the situation 30ft offshore. “Phillip was trying to keep the boy above the surface,” she recalled.

She re-entered the water with a tree branch from the side of the lake in a vain bid to save her partner. Emergency services later pulled Mr Gooderham from the lake.

Coroner Katie Sutherland recorded a conclusion of misadventure. She said it was a “tragic set of events” for the family.

The coroner told Mr Gooderham’s partner :” I am sure he will be missed terribly by you, by the children and your wider family. He was still young enough to have plenty of life in him. It’s unfortunate what occurred.”