Wildfowl man drowns in pond

The alarm was raised when the man's dog ran barking to other party members.

An inquest was opened and adjourned at Hastings on Tuesday.

A post mortem examination revealed that Andrew Walker, 29, who suffered from epilepsy and asthma, had died from drowning.

Coroner's officer Regina Jones said it appeared that Mr Walker, of Downash, Hailsham, had positioned himself in the pond with his dog to wait while ducks were driven overhead.

"Nobody had a clear view of him in this water. The first they knew that he was in trouble was when his dog came back to them - which it should not have done.

"They went over to him and found him face-down in the water."

Sussex Ambulance Service was called to the pond off the far end of the un-made section of Pebsham Lane at 6.38pm.

A spokesman said: "We sent two rapid-response cars and an ambulance. Because of the nature of the location, one of the cars was a 4x4.

"When we arrived, the patient had been in the water for some time and was in a very poorly condition.

"In this situation we would have considered sending the air ambulance but the conditions were bag. It was too foggy for taken-off."

He said the patient had been submerged for about five minutes in a freshwater pond.

Mr Walker was taken to the Conquest Hospital at Hastings.

The marshy area between Pebsham Farm and the county waste tip is frequently used by wildfowlers.