A young man drowned in the Norfolk Broads after diving into the water following a heavy drinking session with an old school friend.
Henry Keith, 25, disappeared under the water during the late-night dip, despite being a strong swimmer.
A coroner concluded he may have banged his head while going into the water at Wroxham Broad on August 16 last year. His body was found nearby two days later.
Sebastian Cator, a captain in the Royal Logistics Corps, told the hearing how his friend had undressed and entered the water headfirst.
But he failed to resurface after diving off the rear of a launch that belonged to his father, just after it slowed to a halt.
The Old Harrovian said he heard a ‘scratching or tapping’ noise on the underside of the boat, adding: ‘My immediate reaction was that he was trying to play a prank on me. I walked around either edge of the boat and could not find him.
‘That was when I realised he was not playing a joke and began to panic.’
Mr Keith’s body was recovered from the water in an ‘upright position’ just beneath the surface on August 18.
Norfolk area coroner Yvonne Blake recorded a conclusion that the death was an accident.
But she accepted questions remained about how he came to drown when he was known to be fit and a strong swimmer.
‘He could have knocked his head on something under the water, which could have stunned him,’ she said.
The pair, who went shooting together, had begun drinking at around 3.30pm at the Swan Inn pub in Horning before heading to Mr Cator’s family’s home nearby.
