An inquest expert witness has alleged that Britain's sport diving educators are offering inadequate training - and that some divers go on to dive beyond their experience levels.

The criticism was levelled at the Coroner's Court in Plymouth, Devon where, in a single session this week, inquests were heard on three separate fatal diving incidents off the coasts of Devon and Cornwall.

The Plymouth coroner, Nigel Meadows, conducted hearings into the deaths of Mark Jackson, 41, of Southwell, Nottinghamshire in summer 2005; Christopher Sidgwick, 44, of Chelmsford, Essex this June; and Albert Tythecott, 65, of Barnstaple, Devon, also in June. Verdicts of accidental death were recorded.

An inquest into the death last week of Richard Lewis, 57, of Leicester was opened and adjourned.

Jackson, who had logged 47 dives, died from a cerebral arterial gas embolism after losing contact with his buddy, dropping his weights and making a rapid ascent from the artificial reef HMS Scylla, in Whitsand Bay.

The case is complicated by the fact that it could be directly dive-related or health-related. The inquest heard that Jackson had consumed a fair quantity of alcohol the previous evening, appeared pale and sweaty on dive day, and admitted to not feeling right after eating a lunchtime pie between dives. He faced problems with obesity, asthma and high blood pressure.

Sidgwick, whose experience level is not clear, drowned while diving HMS Scylla after running out of air. It was found that his main cylinder was full while his smaller back-up cylinder was empty, leading to the theory that he had mixed up his second-stage regulators.

Tythecott, a novice, died from a cerebral arterial gas embolism after a rapid ascent while diving off Lamorna in the company of another novice and an instructor.

Criticism of training syllabuses and diver attitudes came from Dr Phil Bryson, Medical Director at Plymouth's Diving Diseases and Research Centre.

Referring to reductions in training requirements introduced by training agency PADI, Dr Bryson said: "They claim they have done it with valid data and that there are very, very few problems. Other UK-based diving groups which had longer training regimes have had to come into line."

His view was that experience levels required for certification were inadequate. Referring to PADI's Advanced Open Water Diver grade, which requires nine open water dives, he said: "I do not believe that someone with eight dives (sic) should be classified as an advanced diver. It is madness."

Things are not helped by the fact that novices want to push on quickly and be able to regard themselves as experienced. "People want to be advanced divers. They want that certificate and they are willing to pay for it," said Dr Bryson.

"We have people presently in diving who feel they are advanced but have no experience whatsoever. The diving community needs to be totally re-educated."

A police diver with Devon and Cornwall Police agreed that novices expect unrealistic advance. "The whole process moves along too quickly because there is an element of money," PC Peter Tapper told the inquest. "The equipment costs, the courses cost and people try to move along at far too fast a speed."

Referring to HMS Scylla, PC Tapper said that the wreck was "an accident waiting to happen", rating its severity for sport divers at eight on a scale of ten. It is not clear whether he was referring to any features of the wreck, or to local sea conditions.

News Index Page