Man, 25, 'fell to death from bridge while on FaceTime to girlfriend'

Business executive, 25, fell to his death from a bridge into the River Thames while on a FaceTime call to his girlfriend after a night out, inquest hears

• Businessman James East, 25, from Swansea, died after falling into River Thames
• He fell off Kingston Bridge and hit his head on Sept 25 last year, an inquest heard

A man died after falling into the River Thames while he was on a video call with his girlfriend, an inquest has heard.

James East, 25, from Swansea, South Wales, had been out with Bella Ashfield in Kingston, south-west London, in the early hours of September 25 2022.

After the couple became separated, Mr East called her to meet up again but fell as he tried to sit on the wall of Kingston Bridge, West London Coroner’s Court was told today.

The ‘remarkable’ business development executive, who was due to run the London Marathon exactly a week from the day of his sudden death, tumbled backwards, hitting his head at the base of the bridge before plunging into the river.

He was found facedown in the water and pulled on to an RNLI lifeboat.

James East (pictured), 25, from Swansea, South Wales died after falling into the River Thames while he was on a video call with his girlfriend, an inquest has heard

Mr East (left), 25, had been out with Bella Ashfield (right) in Kingston, south-west London, in the early hours of September 25 2022

Emergency workers resuscitated him but he died hours later at Kingston Hospital from head injuries.

A post-mortem examination found evidence of cocaine use and police found a small bag containing white powder beside his phone near the wall where he fell, the inquest heard.

Mr East had been on a night out with his girlfriend, Miss Ashfield, to celebrate her sister’s eighteenth birthday.

West London Coroners Court heard the group had gone to nightclub Pryzm in Kingston before leaving in the early hours to take a pre-booked taxi home.

But James became detached from the rest of the group and called his girlfriend on FaceTime.

In a written statement, Miss Ashfield said she had been on a video call with Mr East when she saw him fall backwards.

She said: ‘He was crying. He said “I’m sorry”. He leaned back in a purposeful way and I heard a splash.’

She said she ‘sprinted’ towards the bridge but could not find him and called the police.

A sergeant told the inquest in a written statement that officers came across a ‘distressed’ Miss Ashfield.

Miss Ashfield suggested her partner may have jumped into the river on purpose, having ‘underestimated how high the bridge was’, but this notion was rejected by coroner Dr Anton van Dellen.

A huge search operation, involving police, fire and ambulance services as well as the RNLI began after Miss Ashfield reported what had happened.

Around 15 minutes after the search began – at close to 4am – emergency services saw two white objects in the water directly below the area of the bridge where James’s mobile was found along with a clear bag of white powder.

The couple had just bought a puppy and were planning to move in together, Miss Ashfield said.

She described Mr East as ‘health conscious’ and said he had been training for the London Marathon scheduled for the following weekend.

Mr East’s mother, Sarah East, said the 18 months the couple had spent together was the ‘happiest’ she had known him.

Coroner Dr Anton van Dellen told the inquest that ‘far too many’ young people fall to their deaths in the Thames.

He concluded that Mr East’s death was accidental and that alcohol and cocaine use did not contribute.

Dr van Dellen said: ‘What happened is that James did what many other young people do in London on a Saturday – they go out and enjoy themselves. The evidence I have heard is that James was in good spirits.

‘There was no indication of what was to follow. James became separated from the people he was with when he went to the toilet and was making efforts to meet back up with them.

‘His girlfriend was on a video call to him at the time and she describes him falling backwards and hearing a splash shortly afterwards.

‘It is my view that this was an accident.

‘I wish I could say it was an unusual accident but unfortunately in this court we see far too many people fall into the Thames.’ 

A statement from PC Jeremy Ashmore, one of the officers at the scene, was read to the court in which he said: ‘We were able to make out the shape of a person in the water.

‘The two white objects [we had spotted] were his trainers. I was aware that James had an injury to his head, and there was blood on the floor.’

‘I could see that the bridge broadens with a ledge, which it is believed James struck whilst falling.’

After the couple became separated, Mr East called her to meet up again but fell as he tried to sit on the wall of Kingston Bridge (pictured), West London Coroner’s Court was told

Emergency services tried in vain to resuscitate James, taking turns giving him CPR and using a defibrillator on him.

He was later taken to Kingston Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 7am on September 25.

The inquest heard James’s mother, Ms East, received a phone call in the early hours, explaining her son had been involved in an incident and began the ‘distressing’ journey from Swansea to London.

Despite speaking to him on the phone just the previous day, when he seemed in good spirits, she never again saw her son alive.

Describing her son in a statement, Ms East said her son had been ‘passionate’ about football, and moved to London to study finance and economics at London South Bank University.

He later got a job as a business development executive and also met his partner in the capital.

Ms East added: ‘[Miss Ashfield] brought him so much joy; the last year-and-a-half was the happiest we had seen him.

‘James was training for the London Marathon, which he was due to run for the charity Mind, a week after [his death].

‘James was a fit and healthy young man. He prided himself on his fitness, appearance and how he treated others.

‘He was loved by many friends and his family dearly, and will forever be missed by us all.’

Ms East added that Miss Ashfield and one of James’s two sisters had run this year’s London Marathon in memory of James.

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