Ashes of tragic diver taken to final resting place... on seabed

But 13 years after Stephen Pickering drowned while salvaging valuable cargo from a wreck off the Dorset coast, his mother has been granted her wish that his remains should go on the seabed off the coast in East Yorkshire.

That is the location where he gained his early experience as an amateur and where, after a gap of more than two decades, he is still fondly remembered by the local diving community.

Mr Pickering, 41, died after disappearing in 60 metres of water in 1997 and worsening weather conditions prevented a search to recover his body in the hours after he was lost.

His remains were finally recovered by a Dutch trawler crew late last year and returned to Iris Molyneux who, following cremation, enlisted the help of local divers to place them on the seabed in the North Sea near Hornsea.

Mrs Molyneux, 78, travelled with her husband, Jack, Mr Pickering's stepfather, from their home in Darfield, Barnsley, on Saturday to watch from the shore as divers took the casket containing his remains out by boat.

Once on the sea bed, they removed a rock and tucked the box underneath, then building up a cairn of rocks around it.

Mrs Molyneux now hopes her emotional farewell will help signal the end to an anguished chapter in her life.

An inquest is still to be held, which she hopes will provide answers to some of the questions surrounding her son's death which have remained since the tragedy in August 1997.

Police investigated at the time but the contents of the statements they took have never been made public and she hopes they will be released at the inquest.

She officially only has a brief maritime report giving details of what happened as Mr Pickering attempted to dive from a salvage barge. This states he fell heavily when entering the water and his face mask ripped away.

Weighed down by a lead belt to help him reach the low working depth, he sank beneath the surface, leaving only a trail of bubbles indicating he had been unable to refix his mask.

Although he was working as part of a team, his colleagues were unable to save him and worsening weather on the day of his death meant a floor search of the ocean to try to locate his body proved impossible.

As her son's remains were laid to rest, Mrs Molyneux said: "We have already had a proper funeral service and he has been in church, now we have had this.

"This is my last goodbye. I have laughed more since he has been back than I have laughed during the last 13 years.

"It has been a relief just having him home, I didn't realise it would make me feel so comfortable.

"I feel that he has been home and now I just want him to rest.

Although an inquest may provide answers about the circumstances of his death, she accepts the full truth about his career in the maritime industry may never emerge.

He had been involved in professional diving and salvage industry after an early career as a disc jockey and photographer, but refused to discuss some elements of his work with his mother, insisting he was forbidden from doing so.

She has since learned he was involved in delivering vessels to the Middle East, frequently flying home on thesame day he arrived and has questioned HM Customs and Excise, which commissioned the work.

They confirmed by letter that a business associate of Mr Pickering had signed the Official Secrets Act but insisted Mr Pickering, who lived in Grimsby after leaving Barnsley, had not, working for that man on a sub-contracted basis.

HM Customs and Excise also confirmed it part owned a vessel with Mr Pickering's business associate in the mid 1990s, which was later sold.

"Stephen told me not to ask questions but I told him it was a mother's duty to ask," Mrs Molyneux added.

COLLEAGUES PAY THEIR TRIBUTES

Stephen Pickering's resting place is close to one of the main launch sites for East Coast divers.

A mile and a half from the shore at Hornsea, his remains were carefully deposited 30ft down on the seabed.

His last journey was witnessed from the tower at Hornsea boat compound by family and friends.

John Horseman, who dived with buddy Chris Chambers, said: "Before we entered the water the crew said a few words in turn. As divers we wanted to give Stephen the type of send-off we'd want ourselves."

Stuart Moate, a former diving colleague, who turned up at Hornsea to bid farewell, said: "He was a very genuine guy, who always had a smile on his face and always had time for you."

Commercial diver Billy Woolford, who also dived with Stephen, said: "He was absolutely smashing, a good all round lad, who couldn't help you enough."