A SWIMMING champion had to be dragged from the sea after he was spotted face down in shallow water during a family holiday in France.

An inquest heard that 36-year-old Downs syndrome sufferer John Paul Topping died seven days after the mystery incident as a result of inhaling sea water.

But a pathologist said that a broken vertebrae discovered shortly before his death had not contributed to John's death.

The inquest heard that John, of St Bernard's, Vicarage Lane, Wilpshire, was a strong swimmer who had taken part in handicapped games in Dublin and was a member of Blackburn Centurions Swimming Club.

He was on a family holiday in Brittany, where his sister Jessica and her family lived.

His father, John senior, said there were 13 members of the family on the beach in Guilvenec and he had last seen John standing on a rock in the shallows. Some of the younger children were also playing in the shallows and Jessica was with them.

He said nobody had seen how he came to be in the water.

"One minute he was standing on the rock and the next Jessica was calling me and we were pulling him out of the water," said Mr Topping.

John was treated at the scene by paramedics before being transferred to hospital at Quimper. He wasn't able to breathe independently but did regain consciousness briefly two days after being admitted. That night his heart stopped but he was resuscitated.

X-rays later revealed the fractured vertebrae which had resulted in paralysis. John died in hospital on September 10.

Pathologist Dr Richard Prescott gave the medical cause of death as adult respiratory distress syndrome, sometimes known as near drowning, and pneumonia due to water inhalation.

He said respiratory distress syndrome was difficult to reverse and carried a high mortality rate. He said the cracked vertebrae had no direct bearing on the cause of death.

Recording a verdict of accidental Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley death deputy coroner Carolyn Singleton said it had been a bizarre incident. "Nobody knows exactly how John came to be in the water," she said. "He was enjoying himself on the beach with his family when this tragedy occurred and we will never know how it happened."

Phil Corner, Blackburn Centurions chairman and coach, said: "I swam with John Paul and when he came to us originally. He was very keen. He probably did 10 years with the Centurions and he was a regular attender. He was a great lad and everybody knew him."