A promising young footballer drowned as he swam in a river on a hot summer's day, an inquest has heard.
Thomas 'Tomi' Solomon, 13, tragically died after getting into trouble in the water at a popular West Yorkshire swimming spot in June last year.
Tomi, who played for Bradford City Academy, began to struggle after jumping from a bridge into the River Calder at Brighouse.
At an inquest, held by senior coroner Martin Fleming, heard how Tomi's friends attempted to rescue him, but could not lift him out of the water, Yorkshire Live reports.
One of his friends who can't be named for legal reasons said he remembered seeing Tomi jumping into the water.
He told the inquest: "As soon as Tomi was in the water I remember seeing him struggling and panicking. He was waving his arms around. Another student shouted that Tomi couldn't swim."
Another friend added: "I heard girls shouting that he was struggling. I could see ripples in the water and I managed to grab hold of him by one of his arms."
However, the boy said he began choking himself and couldn't breathe so had to let go. Emergency services arrived at the scene, but Tomi's body was not recovered for at least another hour and a half, the inquest heard.
Tomi's dad Mbamu Solomon was asked by Mr Fleming whether his son could swim. "He was not an expert but he could swim," he said, adding that his son had had swimming lessons up to Level 2.
Mr Fleming speculated that perhaps the shock of jumping into the cold water may have caused him to struggle in the water.
The hearing was told there was no signage warning people not to jump from the bridge and Tomi's mum Frida Ndabue said more needed to be done to protect people at the spot.
Mr Fleming agreed and said he would be writing a letter to the relevant authorities, Calderdale Council, the owner of the bridge and the charity Canal and River Trust which maintains England's and Wales' waterways flagging up the issue.
The coroner concluded that Tomi died from drowning and that his death was by misadventure. He described Tomi as "a much-loved son and brother whose unexpected death has devastated the family".
"He always managed to put a smile on people's faces," he said.
After his tragic death, Bradford City posted their own tribute to mourn the loss of the youngster who represented their under-13s side. Tomi spent the past three seasons with the Bantams and the club's academy manager Neil Matthews said he was "very popular and well thought of" by staff at the club.
Mr Matthews said: “We are devastated to hear of this news about Tomi, and our thoughts are with his family at this time. Tomi was very popular and well thought of, by all the staff who had the pleasure of working with him. He will be deeply missed by all involved with Bradford City.”
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