A 15-year-old girl tragically died after she slipped into a river and drowned, an inquest heard.
Holli Smallman fell into the River Severn while playing with friends during the summer holidays last year.
Her inquest heard that her friends desperately tried to save her from the fast-flowing section of the river but she vanished underwater.
The teen’s body was found in Welshpool, mid-Wales, following a huge search on August 9.
Coroner Kerrie Burge said: ‘Holli Smallman, aged 15, was socialising with a group of friends on the 9th of August 2024, on the banks of the River Severn.
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‘Everyone was in good spirits and they decided to go into the river. Holli was not a particularly strong swimmer and everyone was paddling and playing around, rather than swimming.
‘The river has shallow and deeper areas, along with a weir, where the water moves a little faster. Holli has slipped under the water close to the weir.
‘Despite the best efforts of her friends to grab hold of her and to find her, Holli could not be located and did not resurface.
‘Emergency wervices were called and Holli was found just over three hours later.
‘Sadly, Holli was pronounced deceased at the River Severn, Severn Banks on the 9th of August 2024.’
Holli’s death was ruled to be the result of accidental drowning.
The teen went to Welshpool High School and was a Welshpool Army Cadets member.
Her heartbroken family previously described her as a ‘loving and caring girl’.
They said: ‘We are so heartbroken and would never want any other family to go through the pain that we are going through.’
In a statement released through Dyfed-Powys Police, her family said: ‘She had her whole life ahead of her and there will be a hole in our lives that will never heal, and we will never forget the amazing person that Holli was.
‘She loved her family, and she loved her friends and showed that every day.
‘We are all so overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and kindness shown to us as a family and we thank you all for the messages and gestures made to us from everyone in the community.
‘We have seen your messages which have meant so much to us. We also have in our hearts and minds the friends who were with Holli that tragic day.
‘The support and compassion shown to us from the community, we extend to them in this unimaginable time, and they are all in our thoughts.’
Holli’s family also warned about the dangers of swimming in open water, urging parents and children to take care.
They said that ‘the dangers of water have been brought home in a way that no one can imagine’.
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