A 21st scuba diver died after suffering a heart attack during a test he was undergoing near the bottom of England’s deepest lake.
Carl Morris was 50m (165ft) beneath the surface of Wastwater in the Lake District when he became ill and signalled to his two fellow divers that he needed to go back up.
But an inquest in Cockermouth, Cumbria, heard how the trained underwater assessor accompanying him on the dive lost contact with the stricken Mr Morris as they ascended.
Police divers recovered the body of the 39-year-old property developer from Almondbury, Huddersfield, two days later on Jan 29 last year.
Instructor John Timperley, of Academy Diving in Batley, who was overseeing the 50m test, described his last moments underwater with Mr Morris, who had worked as a part-time diving instructor with the company.
““Carl grabbed hold of my harness and gave me the signal to go up. He was breathing a bit heavy but we had hold of each others’ right arms.
“At about 15m I was trying to grip on tight but pressure forces you apart. I didn’’t want to let go, but he let go of me and I lost my grip.”
The inquest heard that the medical certificate Mr Morris had required in order to take his 50m diving course had run out eight months earlier.
Robert Chapman, coroner for North and West Cumbria, said Mr Morris had been issued with a medical certificate for just six months in November 2011 because of concerns about his weight.
““He was a big lad, quite a big chap,” said the coroner, who added that the findings of two pathologists showed that Mr Morris had a “”poorly heart” and that he had died of a heart attack rather than drowning”.
Mr Timperley’s wife Tracy, who was overseeing the divers surface, told the hearing that the morning before the tragic dive got underway no-one had any physical complaints and there was no indication anyone was ill in any way.
The hearing also heard from Mr Morris’s wife Deborah that he was a 20-a-day smoker.
“His death came as a massive shock to us, but we know that he died doing something he loved,” she said.
The test was being carried out under the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) regulations.
Mr Morris, who was known as Badger by his friends, failed to surface after the 40-minute dive.
Police set up a large search and rescue mission, including specialist teams from the coastguard, fire and rescue, mountain rescue and members of the North West Police Underwater Search Team.
The inquest continues.
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