Sheffield-born dad drowned in neck-deep Storm Babet floods while trying to save dog, inquest hears

A "fantastic husband and dad" drowned in raging neck-deep floods during Storm Babet as he tried to get back to his vehicle and dog, an inquest has heard.

Sheffield-born Trevor Furniss, aged 66, was one of seven people to have died during Storm Babet in October last year after trying to navigate through fast-moving floods around his home in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire.

Fearing the flooding was becoming dangerous, he had tried to leave his home with his wife Deborah, their son Oliver and their dog on October 20, 2023 in two separate cars.

Mr Furniss, with their German shepherd dog, got into their Land Rover and managed to make it through the floodwater on their driveway, parking the 4x4 in a nearby dry road.

He left their dog in the car and returned to his home to carry his wife and son back inside, then left again, not telling his wife where he was going, the inquest heard.

Neighbour Ed Brown said Mr Furniss appeared on his property looking “shaken and frightened”.

He told the inquest Mr Furniss was "determined" to get across the flooded Baveney Brook so he could return to his vehicle, which had his dog inside.

Mr Brown said: "I told him it was impossible. He said 'I'm going to cross' - I told him he couldn't, it was too dangerous. He wasn't listening to me, so I explained he should cross through the woodland on the other side of the brook.

"He set off across the brook holding a rope I had put in before, I was talking him through all the dangers. There was a large tree coming in the water, he managed to avoid it.

"He eventually got across and I told him to go to the road to find his car. That was the last time I saw him."

Twenty minutes later, Mr Brown received a call from Katie Arnold, asking for his help.

In a statement, she said she was with a colleague, surveying a damaged fence at Silligrove Farm that had been washed over the road by the floods, when she saw a man in the water.

With her colleague calling 999, she said: "I couldn't communicate with him, the noise from the water was too much.

"He was struggling and by now the water was up to his chest. I saw him go under the water for a second or two.

"Now he was up to his neck, his coat got stuck on a branch. He was holding onto a branch, he was asking us to get help.

"When I turned my back he went under and he didn't come back up."

Firefighter Alex Chester-Masters, of Shropshire Fire and Rescue, told the inquest it took his crew more than an hour to get from their base in Shrewsbury to Cleobury Mortimer.

He discovered Mr Furniss's body under the water close to a group of trees and he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics at 12.41pm.

Mrs Furniss, who was supported at the inquest by her daughter and family friends, paid an emotional tribute to her Sheffield-born husband, who studied at Stanford University in the US to become a surgeon, and was a company director.

She said: "He was a fantastic husband and dad. He was very caring and always put family first. He would do anything for anyone.

"He was a family man who loved nothing more than spending time with us."

Shropshire assistant coroner Heath Westerman ruled on Wednesday (May 1) that Mr Furniss had died as a result of an accident.

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He said: "Mrs Furniss has indicated how scary it was to be caught up in Storm Babet. She was scared for her property and scared for her family.

"Mr Furniss was determined he wanted to cross Baveney Brook to get his car or to get his dog.

"He chose to walk back to the vehicle to stay with the dog or to drive somewhere else. He knew the risks and he decided to take these risks.

"His death was not preventable."