Hero teenager praised for leaping into uneven seas to attempt to save his barrister father when he obtained into bother whereas on vacation in Tenerife

A heroic and ‘brave’ teenager was praised by a coroner after he tried to save his barrister father from drowning while swimming on holiday in Tenerife.

Stephen Howd, 57, who had recently been appointed a judge, died off the coast of Santa Cruz after sea conditions changed while he was swimming with his son, an inquest on Monday heard.

The father-of-three, from Farnham, Surrey, had enjoyed the water in the area many times after buying a holiday home in Spain in 2006, the hearing was told.

But he got into difficulty, was unable to get out and struck his head on rocks.

His then-16-year-old son William, who was swimming with his father during a break from studying for his GCSEs, bravely went in to the dangerous water to try to bring his father back to safety, the hearing was told.

However, he couldn’t prevent his father from drowning.

Winchester Coroner’s Court, Hants, was told Mr Howd died on 21 April, 2023, in Buenavista del Norte at a spot popular with people who liked jumping off a rocky outcrop and swimming in the sea.

His ex-partner and mother to his children, Nicola Murphy, told the inquest into his death that Mr Howd and his son were enjoying themselves doing just this on the day of his death.

Stephen Howd, 57, who had recently been appointed a judge, died off the coast of Santa Cruz, Tenerife, after sea conditions changed while he was swimming with his son, an inquest on Monday heard (stock)

She said in a statement: ‘They jumped in and were enjoying themselves until the sea conditions changed, the sea became rough and the conditions of the water became difficult to swim against.’

Ms Murphy said bystanders saw the father and son get into difficulty, and made a ‘makeshift rope’ to pull them back to the rocky outcropping they had jumped from.

The judge’s son William, who is now 18, was able to get out using this rope, but his father sadly couldn’t.

The inquest heard that Mr Howd hit his head against the rocks, causing an injury which the coroner said may have contributed to his death.

Mr Howd’s son said that his father’s last words were ‘This is getting dangerous, I’m getting tired’.

Ms Murphy’s statement continued: ‘William then jumped back in and swam out to his father. William described his father as being slumped down and face down in the water.’

The teenager managed to bring his father almost all the way back.

Area Coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Jason Pegg said, summarising the final section of Ms Murphy’s statement: ‘William attempted to pull himself and his father up the staircase to get him back up to the ledge, but a large wave hit and pulled Stephen out of William’s grasp and back out to sea again, where he remained until emergency services arrived.’

The father-of-three, from Farnham, Surrey, had enjoyed the water in the area many times after buying a holiday home in Spain in 2006, the hearing was told. But he got into difficulty, but was unable to get out and struck his head on rocks (stock)

The Spanish emergency services tried to revive Mr Howd without success – he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Giving evidence at the inquest in person, Mr Dowd’s daughter, Constance Ridge said that her father was ‘just incredibly unlucky that day’.

‘He was, I would have thought, quite a strong swimmer as well – he did swimming recreationally, it was one of the things he did to stay fit, he was a competent swimmer as well,’ she said.

The coroner said, after offering his condolences to Mr Dowd’s loved ones: ‘I specifically give my condolences to William, who was present during this dreadful incident. In my view, it was very much a valiant and brave attempt by him [to save his father].’

The coroner said that heart disease contributed to Mr Howd’s death, but was not the cause.

Mr Pegg concluded that Mr Dowd drowned, and that his cause of death was misadventure.

The hearing was told Mr Howd attended Winchester College as a young man and went on to study physics at Oxford University, before obtaining the prestigious Queen Mother’s Scholarship – given to outstanding candidates – to study law at the university.

He was appointed a judge shortly before he died, and his daughter told the inquest that he had been looking forward to the new professional challenge.

He lived on Echo Barn Lane in Surrey, where houses cost more than £1m on average.