A 16-year-old who was tipped by Tyson Fury to be a 'future world champ' drowned after his friends begged him not to swim across a river, an inquest heard.
Talented teenage boxer Frank Varey, originally from Blackpool, died on July 22 last year after getting into difficulty while trying to swim across the River Dee in Chester. Frank and has friends had been 'jumping in' to keep cool on the warm day and then decided to swim across from the city centre side to the Handbridge side, Cheshire Live reports.
Some of the group had tried to persuade Frank, from Lancashire, to stay out the water as he couldn't swim. Witnesses said they saw Frank almost reach the other side before he got into difficulty.
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An inquest heard that, despite heroic efforts to save him, Frank disappeared under the water. Emergency services were called at just before 2.30pm and a huge search operation was launched.
But the teenager's body was found under the water at 7.58pm, not far from where he disappeared. A post mortem concluded that he died as a result of drowning.
Assistant Coroner Jean Harkin read out a statement from Frank's mum Sarah and said: "Frank has always been a fit and healthy child apart from having his tonsils removed when he was younger. He attended primary and junior school before becoming a talented boxer.
"Since the age of five, Frank has boxed. He was extremely talented and showed great promise. He was talent spotted and went on to box for England, winning many titles.
"As a result, Frank did not attend secondary school and went into full-time training. Because of Frank's regime he was always conscious of what he put into his body. He ate well and never drank, smoked or took drugs.
"On July 22, she received the call from her husband advising her that Frank had been swimming and had drowned. She confirmed that Frank has been spending the day with friends.
"They were spoken to by police who were searching for Frank and at about 8pm they were told the devastating news that a body had been recovered from the River Dee.
"The last time she saw him alive was the morning of July 22 at home. She and Frank Snr (Frank's dad) were getting ready to go to Whitby. Frank (junior) said he was going to Chester with friends. He often went out to different towns with friends and would meet other friends.
"He wasn't in an unhappy mood. There was nothing out of character and they parted saying they would see each other later that evening. Frank had never been a strong swimmer - he could not swim. He has never had any formal swimming lessons. To the best of her knowledge, he had never been swimming in open water.
"He was at the peak of his boxing potential and was destined for a very bright future. He lived and breathed boxing. He trained daily and loved it. He was happy, fun-loving and Sarah never had any concerns about his mental health.
"As a family, they are still trying to come to terms with Frank being taken away from them so young. She believes this was a very tragic accident because he could not swim."
Recording a conclusion of accidental death, Ms Harkin said: "It's clear that Frank Varey was a very talented young man. He had a great skill for boxing and he never caused his parents any concern.
"His mum in her statement confirmed that he could not swim. However, on July 22 2021, he was in the River Dee near to the Royal Chester Rowing Club.
"He was with friends who decided to swim across. He also made that decision to swim across. He had no past medical history which would have affected him that day and the evidence suggests that Frank was nearly there.
"He had swam some distance to get to where he was but then got into difficulty and, despite help from friends and bystanders, they were unable to rescue him."
