A YOUNG man from Thornbury "inexplicably" drowned in front of his boyfriend off a beach in the Canary Islands despite being a stronger swimmer, an inquest heard.

Charles Jones, 27, was with partner Bobby Hopson, 26, when a small wave broke over them and they were dragged out to sea after losing their footing.

Mr Hopson told an inquest that he managed to swim ashore to get help but had to watch helplessly as Mr Jones trod water for 30 minutes unable to beat the current.

In a statement to Avon Coroners Court, Mr Hopson said he could not understand why Charles did not swim back to shore because he was a strong swimmer.

Lifeguards and a police helicopter rushed to the scene but Mr Jones was eventually pulled under the water and was found three hours later some 200m from the shore.

The inquest heard the tragedy happened in May this year on at a beach at Playa Del Ingles in the resort of Maspalomas in Gran Canaria.

The cause of his death was given as complete lack of oxygen, caused by mechanical asphyxiation from being submerged in salt water.

Mr Hopson's statement read: "Charles is a very strong swimmer, I couldn't understand why he couldn't swim.

"I kept shouting at him to swim, but he looked panicked and said, 'I can't'."

Mr Hopson also added that, just hours before his partner's death, the couple had "sunbathed and smoked cigarettes" and "everything felt perfect".

The inquest heard that Mr Jones, a self-employed dog groomer, had arrived with Mr Hopson at the resort on Gran Canaria's south coast on May 4 this year.

Mr Hopson's statement said the couple knew the island quite well, having holidayed there six times before.

The couple had gone out for drinks that night, but had returned to their hotel by 1am so they could wake up early and enjoy their holiday, Mr Hopson said.

On the morning of May 5, the inquest heard how the couple had walked along the resort's beach front to a secluded area of the beach so they could bathe and talk in relative privacy.

Having seen no notices or flags warning them against entering the water, the couple entered the sea, initially sticking to the shallows.

But Mr Hopson said a 'small' wave came along and broke over them - causing the couple to lose their footing and get swept out to sea by a 'major' current.

He said the water remained calm on the surface, but the current was strong underneath, and prevented the couple from swimming back towards shore.

Mr Hopson said: "It was hard to tell the distance, but I was shocked when I noticed how far we had gone."

He said he yelled at his partner to swim, but panicked Mr Jones kept repeating that he couldn't, and continued to tread water.

After exhausting himself attempting to help Mr Jones back to shore, Mr Hopson decided to swim back and attempt to get help.He said he kept looking back at his partner and was still able to see him treading water.

The inquest heard that Mr Hopson ran about 300m back along the beach and fetched a lifeguard, who in turn alerted another member of hotel staff, who called the police.

It was heard that four lifeguards and a police helicopter were sent out to attempt to rescue Mr Jones - but, despite their efforts, he was pulled under the water at just after 1.30pm on May 5.

Mr Hopson was told at 5pm by the hotel receptionist that his body had been located some 200m out from shore.

A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Jones had no alcohol or toxic substances in his bloodstream at the time of drowning.

The post-mortem estimated the time of death somewhere between 1pm and 3pm on May 5, 2017.

His GP Angela Kerr also said Mr Jones had no significant medical history, and no mental health conditions.

Senior Coroner Maria Voisin recorded an accidental death, caused by anoxic anoxia (lack of oxygen) and mechanical asphyxiation from submersion in salt water.