A man died after going swimming during a boozy fishing trip, an inquest heard yesterday.

Polish national Piotr Robert Zych drowned in the River Aire in Saltaire after going swimming while fishing with friends Tomasz Jacak and Beata Borejko.

The 51-year-old had been in the UK since around 2010 and had been living in a shared house in Springhurst Road, Shipley. At the inquest, Bradford Coroner Martyn Fleming issued a warning about the dangers of swimming while intoxicated.

On Saturday, June 24, Mr Zych, along with Mr Jacak and Ms Borejko, headed to the riverbank, near to Saltaire Cricket Club, to fish. On their way, they picked up a three-litre bottle of 7.5% ABV cider to drink as they fished, and had all been drinking prior to heading out.

At around 6.30pm, they arrived at a location described by Mr Zych as his “usual spot” and the trio began drinking while Mr Zych and Mr Jacak fished.

In a statement read to the court, Mr Jacak said Mr Zych was under the influence of alcohol but was not drunk, but Ms Borejko was drunk.

Mr Jacak went on to describe how, after catching a fish, Mr Zych entered the water to retrieve it, before later, at around 9.30pm, deciding to go for a swim as “his clothes were already wet”.

He said Mr Zych stripped down to his underwear and dived into the water before swimming across the 30 metre wide river towards the other side. As Mr Zych got near the other side, he got into difficulty, and Mr Jacak said he resurfaced three times before not coming back up.

Mr Jacak jumped in to try and save his friend, but did not reach him in time and could not see him in the murky waters.

After Mr Jacak got out, Bradford Coroners’ Court heard how the pair then headed home, Mr Jacak disposing of his wet clothes in a yellow grit bin, and putting on dry clothes.

Mr Jacak said he asked Ms Borejko to call police but she didn’t and he could not call as his phone was water damaged and he could not speak English.

At Mr Zych’s home, the pair informed his housemate, Grzegorz Chaciowka of what had happened, and Mr Chaciowka called Mr Zych’s brother Darius to pass on the news.

One of Mr Zych’s other brothers, Pawel Zych, said in a statement the family had headed to the scene and rang the emergency services, where they found Mr Zych’s clothing and the fishing equipment on the riverbank.

Police, the fire service and an ambulance all attended the scene, and police divers recovered Mr Zych’s body from the river the next day.

Pawel Zych said Mr Jacak and Ms Borejko both had completely different accounts of the events, and Mr Chaciowka said when the pair had arrived back at Mr Zych’s home they both seemed to be “emotionless”.

In evidence, both Mr Jacak and Ms Borejko described described Mr Zych as their “best friend”.

The court heard how, after arriving in the UK, Mr Zych worked, but turned to alcohol after being made redundant, being identified as a problem drinker by his GP Dr Francesca Young in 2012.

He also had seizures when he went cold turkey due to alcohol dependency.

Toxicologist Elizabeth Fox said Mr Zych had 239 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of blood when he died, three times the drink drive limit, described as a “substantial amount” by Mr Fleming.

Mr Fleming said: “Robert died directly as a result of drowning, and there is clear cut evidence Robert had acute alcohol dependency.

“His intoxication made him extremely vulnerable to getting into difficulty when in water. While in drink this seemed like a good idea but in this case it was a very bad idea. He entered the water voluntarily and found himself in difficulty perhaps due to drink and died an accidental death. He was a much loved brother, father, uncle, son and dear friend and his death has devastated all those who knew him.

"Alcohol dependency was extremely destructive for Robert because when he was not in drink he was a very capable worker.”

Mr Zych was the oldest of seven brothers and five sisters, five of whom live in the UK, and also had a son back in Poland.