Man found dead in Derbyshire canal 'may have tripped'

The body of Neil Ratcliffe, 52, was found by a dog walker on Sunday April, 3, 2022, in Whaley Bridge canal basin.

An inquest into his death was held at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court, when a coroner said there was no evidence to suggest Mr Ratcliffe entered the water deliberately.

Charlotte Crangle, assistant coroner for Derby and Derbyshire, told the inquest: “Neil was found in the canal on April 3, near to the barge he lived on.

“He had drunk a significant amount of alcohol the night before and was also suffering with a number of health concerns.”

Mr Ratcliffe was born on November 10, 1969 and had one older brother, Steve, the inquest heard.

He grew up in Wythenshawe and moved to Hazel Grove, Davenport, and Adlington before mooring his canal boat, Miles, in Whaley Bridge.

A statement from his son, Matthew Ratcliffe, said the civil partnership his father had been in for more than 20 years had come to an end in recent years.

It also said that Mr Ratcliffe suffered two transient ischaemic attacks, or mini strokes which left him with breathing difficulties.

The statement said: “His heavy breathing was a concern for the family and we asked him to see a doctor.”

Days after his death a letter from the hospital arrived with an appointment for a chest x-ray which had been made by his doctor.

Rachel Nolan found Mr Ratcliffe face down in the water while walking her dog along the towpath, the inquest heard.

She was walking quickly and didn’t initially realise what it was in the water.

Reading Ms Nolan’s statement out, Ms Crangle said: “It was from my elevated position I could see a hood and bare skin.”

Ms Nolan then returned home and called police, with the ordeal leaving her feeling ‘quite shaken’.

Police arrived at the scene at 7.41am with an ambulance arriving at 7.45am, the court heard.

A summary of the police report which was read out during the inquest said Mr Ratcliffe’s body was found between Tesco and the canal basin.

It also noted there was no CCTV covering the area which may have captured the incident.

Graham Taylor, landlord of The Railway Pub in Whaley Bridge, saw Mr Ratcliffe the night before he died.

His statement, which was read out in court, said: “He had about six pints of lager which was not unusual.”

A postmortem conducted by Dr Abed Zaitoon noted there was dirty water in Mr Ratcliffe’s trachea but not his stomach and his alcohol levels were very high at 185mg/cl.

He said the cause of death was asphyxia as a consequence of drowning.

Closing the inquest at Chesterfield Coroner's Court Ms Crangle said: “I am satisfied there are no suspicious circumstances and there is nothing to suggest Mr Ratcliffe’s entering of the canal was in any way deliberate.

"However, we do not know if he had a medical event or just slipped and fell into the water."

She gave her condolences to the family who were not present and recorded an open verdict.