Man, 44, found dead by fiancée after lawnmower he was using veers 10ft into river

The body of Simon Theaker was discovered by his fiancée

A man died after the ride-on lawnmower he was using fell 10ft off a bank and into a river, an inquest heard.

Simon Theaker, 44, of Cusop, near Hay-on-Wye, had been mowing the lawn at his home on May 19 when the mower he was using crashed into a river.

His fiancée found him lying face down in the water with the lawnmower on top of him.

Emergency services were called but Mr Theaker was pronounced dead at the scene.

Assistant coroner Rachel Knight opened an inquest into Mr Theaker's death at Pontypridd Coroner's Court on Wednesday, May 27.

Lauren Howitt, coroner's assistant for South Wales Central Coroner's Office, told the hearing that Mr Theaker had collected the lawnmower from his father's house at Llangwathan Farm at around 2pm and drove it to his own property nearby.

Ms Howitt said Mr Theaker's father heard the lawnmower "for around an hour to two hours" before it went silent.

It was at around 6pm when Mr Theaker's fiancée returned to the property and discovered Mr Theaker in the river.

Ms Howitt said: "At approximately 6pm Mr Theaker's fiancée returned to the property and pottered around the house and then went outside to water some plants.

"At around 6.20pm, she saw the mower down the bank on its side in the river. She then realised that Mr Theaker was under the lawnmower face down in the river.

"She went back to the house and called for assistance."

Mr Theaker was pronounced dead at 6.52pm.

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A post-mortem examination was carried out by Dr Hopkins at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital on May 22. However, they were unable to provide a provisional cause of death as it is pending further investigations.

The family donated samples taken by the pathologist for medical research.

Ms Knight adjourned the inquest until May 14, 2021.