AN alcoholic pub landlord walked into the River Wye and drowned after losing his business, his partner, health and money, an inquest heard.

Onlookers said Robert Powell, 50, made no effort to swim after going into the river at Hunderton, Herefordshire, by the Great Western Way footpath, on October 14.

Police searched but were unable to find him and it was not until November 22 that his body was discovered by a local resident at Lancaut, near Tidenham - 30 miles downstream.

No attempt to swim

The inquest heard that he had actually been seen going into the water by a schoolgirl - although at that time his identity was not known.

In a statement she said: "He just kept walking into the river until he was gone and then he went under. I could see him underwater. Other people had gathered on the bridge saying they could see him but then I could only see bubbles. He didn't attempt to swim. I thought he had a dog which had gone in. Then I thought he was going to kill himself." Mr Powell, of Minster Court, Belmont, Hereford, had been a heavy drinker all his life, the inquest was told.

He ran the Buckingham pub, in Whitecross Road, for five years.

His brother John Powell said: "He never drank less than five pints of cider in a day. While he was at the pub he would always have a drink in his hand. It was always a half of cider shandy, but he would have perhaps 20 a day and he drank in other pubs."

Two years ago, Mr Powell had started vomiting blood and was admitted to hospital with a swollen liver.

He recovered, but started drinking again. After a relapse, his GP told him to give up alcohol, otherwise it would kill him.

His brother said: "Robert carried on drinking again. His partner Heather left him and he got into financial difficulties with the pub. He hadn't paid his tax, VAT, or the brewery."

In November last year, the inquest heard, one of his daughters rang her father but there was no answer.

The family tried to trace him and in January he was placed on the missing persons list.

He had regularly travelled to Gloucester to visit his three children from his first marriage, the inquest heard.

A family relative living in Gloucestershire recognised the description of the body found in Tidenham as that of Robert because of a missing finger.

He was formally identified by his dental records and died by drowning.

Debts of £1,500

After his death, it was discovered that he had debts of £1,500.

Gloucester coroner David Gibbons heard how Mr Powell was prone to bouts of forgetfulness in the afternoons after he had been drinking.

Recording an open verdict, he said: "There is no evidence that he intended to take his own life or it was an accident, him slipping into the river.

"It seems that this was a man who clearly enjoyed a drink, suffered the consequences and strange as it seems he really didn't know where he was walking or what he was doing."