A 15-year-old girl tragically lost her life after slipping into the River Severn and drowning during a summer outing with friends, an inquest has heard.
Tragic Summer Holiday Incident
Holli Smallman was playing with friends along the riverbanks during the summer holidays last year when the devastating accident occurred. The teenager, who attended Welshpool High School and was a member of the Welshpool Army Cadets, was socialising with a group of friends on August 9, 2024.
Coroner Kerrie Burge detailed how the group had been in high spirits and decided to enter the river to cool off. "Everyone was paddling and playing around, rather than swimming," the coroner noted, adding that Holli was not considered a particularly strong swimmer.
Desperate Rescue Attempts
The situation turned deadly when Holli slipped underwater close to a weir, where the water flows more rapidly. Her friends immediately attempted to rescue her from the fast-flowing section of the river, but despite their desperate efforts to grab hold of her, she vanished beneath the surface.
Emergency services were quickly alerted and launched a major search operation. Tragically, Holli's body was recovered from the river in Welshpool, mid-Wales, just over three hours later. She was pronounced deceased at the scene at Severn Banks.
Family's Heartbreaking Warning
Holli's heartbroken family described their daughter as a "loving and caring girl" who had her whole life ahead of her. In a statement released through Dyfed-Powys Police, they expressed their profound grief and issued a stark warning about water safety.
"We are so heartbroken and would never want any other family to go through the pain that we are going through," they said. "The dangers of water have been brought home in a way that no one can imagine."
The family also expressed their concern for the friends who were with Holli during the tragic incident, acknowledging the "unimaginable" impact it must have had on them.
The inquest formally ruled Holli's death as accidental drowning, bringing a tragic conclusion to the case that has highlighted the very real dangers of open water, even during seemingly harmless summer activities.
