Three people die at same waterfall beauty spot as warning issued

Clearer signs are needed at a popular waterfalls walking route in the Brecon Beacons after three people died there, a coroner has said.

Helen and Rachael Patching, aged 52 and 33, from Kent died in January 2023 and 26-year-old Corey Longdon from Gloucester died in June 2024 on visits to the area known as Waterfall Country in the Brecon Beacons.

Assistant coroner for south Wales central Rachel Knight said she would issue a prevention of future deaths report and ask for improvements to be made to mobile phone signal in the area.

Knight said it was “unusual” to hold three inquests as one, but felt the issues were “similar” due to the location and events leading up to the deaths.

The hearing on Thursday heard that Helen and Rachael Patching, from West Malling, Kent, were “happiest when walking up mountains” and shared a love of the outdoors, as well as passion for animals, volunteering and fundraising for animal charities.

Their families said the couple, who married in 2015, were a “perfect match” and their deaths had left a “deep and lasting impact”.

The body of Helen Patching, who worked for the probation service, was found at Sgwd y Pannwr on 5 January 2023, a day after the pair went missing, while Rachael Patching, who was training to be an animal behaviourist, was found on 8 January in the River Neath near Spring Lake camping site in Glynneath.

The search for the pair was sparked by members of the public spotting what they thought was a body in the waterfall but “no witnesses saw Rachael or Helen enter the water”.

The inquest heard the couple’s families believed they would not have entered the water voluntarily as they appeared to still be wearing full clothing when spotted, adding the couple were “experienced walkers”.

They thought it likely one of the women had fallen in, with the other then trying to rescue them.

Corey Longdon, a holiday park entertainer, visited the area with his aunt Lisa Lane and had camped overnight ahead of a walk near Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn on 26 June 2024.

His family said he was “the happiest he had ever been” before the trip and loved listening to music and performing.

His aunt said that while walking, her nephew had left her to find a shortcut, and sometime later she heard “a very loud splash and someone screaming for help”.

Another witness said they heard “the sound of something breaking and a man fall down the mountainside and into the water” from the top of a cliff about 100ft (30m) high at a place known as Precipice Walk.

The 26-year-old was airlifted to hospital but suffered a cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, later that day.

The coroner recorded a conclusion of accidental death for Rachael and Helen Patching and Corey Longdon.

She said it was not clear how Rachael or Helen entered the water but “it was more likely than not that one of the ladies entered the water accidentally and the other took off her rucksack to attempt a rescue”.

She said their cause of death was drowning.

Corey Longdon’s cause of death was given as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy brain injury, traumatic cardiac arrest and a fall from height.

Knight said she would be issuing another prevention of future deaths report as “new issues had emerged”.

“The phone signal is poor to non-existent” and a “solution should be considered”, she said.

“I am also concerned that paths are not sufficiently or clearly explained and I am of the view that better and more frequently placed explanations are needed.”

The court heard so-called Waterfall Country is hugely popular with visitors, attracting 250,000 walkers a year with many visitors following the Four Waterfalls Walk, a three-hour, 9km (5.6 mile) trail taking in the falls at Sgwd yr Eira, Sgwd Uchaf Clun-Gwyn, Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn and, Sgwd y Pannwr.

Ownership and land management is “a complex picture”, the hearing was told, involving Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and three local authorities.

Catherine Mealing-Jones, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority CEO, said the organisation “holds our breath, literally every day, hoping people will be safe”.

She said one route, referred to as path 86, had been closed permanently following accidents and that more staff had been put at entry points within the huge park area to try and ensure people were aware of the risks.

The court heard the family of a man who drowned trying to save relatives in September 2023 had offered “funding for life-saving rings at each of the falls” but the authority had declined.

Mealing-Jones said the intervention “would more likely lead to injury” and “could be interpreted to mean that swimming is permitted”.

Following the man’s death a prevention of future deaths report was issued by the same coroner, urging action on signage at the site.

A joint safety advisory group with members of the National Park Authority and NRW “met regularly” to discuss safety and management of the site, Mealing-Jones said.

Andrew Lamb, a guided walk leader who has walked the trails for decades, told the inquest that on some occasions he had been at one of the main waterfalls among about 200 people “with 50 people in their swimming costumes”.

He said there needed to be a focus on “how this area is really used, rather than how planners want people to use this area”.

He said it was often “chaos” at Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn and that the closure of path 86 had not helped.

“It needs to be a circular route and signs all the way,” he added.

Sam Jones, representing NRW, said there had been significant investment, a new route and fencing put up since the deaths.