Coroner warns against binge drinking after student deaths

Matthew Wilcox is thought to have fallen in the River Aire while trying to find his way home after a night out.

The 19-year-old Leeds University geography student was asked to leave a nightclub earlier and was seen on CCTV walking unsteadily.

Tests showed he was just over three times the drink-drive limit.

Two weeks after his body was recovered, another Yorkshire student died as a result of heavy drinking.

Frederick Archer-Joy had been drinking heavily on three consecutive days when he had a heart attack in a friend's bathroom in Leeds.

The 18-year-old, who had been studying at Sheffield University, would have been just under five times the drink-drive limit, according to post mortem tests.

His death was caused by acute alcohol toxicity which had led to the heart attack, an inquest in Leeds heard yesterday.

West Yorkshire Coroner David Hinchliff said he had decided to hold the inquests on the same afternoon so he could warn others about the dangers of heavy drinking.

"It is so sad, tragic and quite depressing this afternoon to have two young men aged 18 and 19, very talented people at the start of their lives which have been tragically cut short by what are just acts of foolishness – consuming far too much alcohol," he said.

"At that age people should start to accept some responsibility for their actions."

Mr Hinchliff said he was not advocating abstinence but the old adage of "moderation in all things" was appropriate.

The inquest into Mr Wilcox's death heard that his family, from Wickersley, Rotherham, reported him missing on February 26 this year.

His body was recovered by police divers after an investigation lasting a week.

Police established that he had been asked to leave the Mission nightclub in Leeds because he appeared to be asleep while standing up.

Images taken by CCTV cameras showed that he apparently tried to make his way home to Clarence Dock but may have become confused and lost near to Riverside Court.

The inquest heard that it was raining heavily, he had pulled his cardigan over his head and he may have lost his spectacles.

It was not clear how he ended up in the river but Mr Hinchliff said there were no suspicious circumstances and recorded an accidental death verdict.

Tributes described him as a talented sportsman and musician who enjoyed watching Sheffield Wednesday and socialising.

Mr Archer-Joy, known as Freddie, died on March 15 shortly after collapsing in halls of residence at Bodington Hall, Leeds.

He had been drinking with friends and had gone to the bathroom where he had a heart attack and collapsed.

In a statement, his father Phillip described him as a "lovely boy" who brought fun and happiness to all he knew.

He had been studying hispanic studies and Czech and had been awarded a scholarship to study in the Czech Republic.

Friends who were with him during a night out in Leeds said he was clearly drunk but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Police discovered that he had consumed a large amount of alcohol over a three-day period and he had not eaten much food, which may have been a factor in the tragedy.

Mr Hincliff, recording an accidental death verdict, said: "Freddie has drunk, over three days, a vast amount of alcohol which was far too much for his system."

The coroner said: "It occurs to me that not enough is perhaps known and understood by people as how dangerous alcohol can be."