British student, 19, fell from party boat and drowned during holiday to Prague just days after finishing his A-levels, inquest hears, as family mourn their ‘perfect son’
- Steven Roberts toppled over the side of a two-storey vessel in Czech Republic
- Witnesses recalled hearing a splash but nobody saw the teenager fall from boat
- Police searched and later found Mr Roberts’ body in the Vltava River in Prague
A British student fell from a party boat and drowned during a holiday to Prague just days after finishing his A-levels, an inquest heard.
Steven Roberts, 19, was with his family in the Czech Republic when he toppled over the side of the two-storey vessel on June 24, 2019.
Witnesses recalled hearing a splash and seeing his body in the water – but nobody saw the teenager fall.
Police organised a mass search and found Mr Roberts’ body in the Vltava River later that day. A post-mortem found the teenager had died as a result of drowning.
Steven Roberts (pictured), 19, was with his family in the Czech Republic when he toppled over the side of the two-storey vessel on June 24, 2019.
An inquest at Bolton Coroners’ Court heard Mr Roberts had spent the weekend in Prague with loved ones following his A-level examinations.
They had planned a trip on a two-storey party boat, which began late on June 23.
But just after midnight, not long after the journey had started, passengers recalled hearing a splash and began screaming.
The captain of the vessel tried to turn the boat around, but the young man’s body quickly disappeared out of sight in the dark.
Mr Roberts had last been seen leaning on a hip-high railing on the second level of the boat after speaking with a family member, who left to go and get a drink.
Before the man reached the bottom of the stairs, people on the upper deck had started shouting when the teenager’s body disappeared over the railing.
A statement from Mr Roberts’ aunt Gemma Hughes was read at the hearing.
Police organised a mass search and found Mr Roberts’ body in the Vltava River (pictured) later that day. A post-mortem found the teenager had died as a result of drowning
An inquest at Bolton Coroners’ Court (pictured) heard Mr Roberts had spent the weekend in Prague with loved ones following his A-level examinations
She described her nephew as ‘strong minded’ and a ‘perfect son’ who loved football.
Ms Hughes added: ‘He was a good lad and there was never any trouble with him.’
Mr Roberts had stayed on into his third year as an A-level student at Thornleigh Salesian College in Bolton and was hoping to study criminology at Bangor University.
Not long after his death, his parents returned to the college on results day to find out their son had achieved the grades he needed to enrol on the university course.
Following an investigation and interviews with witnesses, Czech Police concluded there were no suspicious circumstances.
A post-mortem concluded the student died as a result of drowning, a decision which was supported by further examinations by Dr Patrick Waugh, a consultant pathologist at the Royal Bolton Hospital.
Giving his final conclusions on the case, area coroner Alan Walsh said it had been a ‘sudden and unexpected event with unintended consequences’.
He added: ‘It’s a great tragedy that a young man with all his future before him should die in these circumstances. It’s simply a very tragic accident.
‘He was clearly a very intelligent talented young man.’
The coroner recorded a conclusion of accidental death.