A golf company director has been jailed over the manslaughter of a man with learning difficulties who drowned as he dived for lost balls in a cold, murky course lake.

Dale Pike stood at the side of the lake in south Wales as Gareth Pugh, who did not have diving qualifications, went to retrieve balls.

Cardiff crown court was told Pike, of Boss Golf Balls, had looked at the cost of hiring professional dive operators but opted for the much cheaper option of employing 29-year-old Pugh.

Pike, 25, was jailed for 32 months after pleading guilty to manslaughter by gross negligence.

Pugh, of Glynneath, near Neath in south Wales, died on 11 February last year while collecting balls at Peterstone Lakes Golf Club, near Newport.

The court was told the safety measures put in place by Pike, also from Glynneath, were inadequate.

Iwan Jenkins, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Dale Pike stood by and watched as Gareth entered the water knowing that safety regulations were being breached. His deceit and callousness resulted in Gareth losing his life.

“There was clear evidence Pike had made inquiries with legitimate dive operators to cost this activity but he chose not to use them, instead falsely claiming to the golf club that he was a qualified commercial diver with his own equipment.”

Father-of-one Pugh was paid between £20 and £40 a day for retrieving balls that were cleaned and sold online.

He had been underwater for some time when Pike realised something had gone wrong and the emergency services were called. His body was eventually retrieved from the lake 70 minutes after he went in.

Pugh, who wore a weighted belt, was found in the water with his feet upwards. He had collected 341 golf balls in the 2.4m (8ft) deep lake.

It would have cost about £1,000 a day to hire a diving company. Instead Pike paid Pugh, who had been diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning difficulties.

David Elias QC, defending, said: “He [Pike] naively and foolishly believed that all would be well with the use of that equipment in that lake.”

Judge Keith Thomas said: “Mr Pugh was an unsuitable contender for the diving work you employed him to undertake, but you allowed him to take those risks to make a quick buck.

“The risk of death or serious injury was obvious to you, but your cavalier attitude towards safety was the cause of Mr Pugh’s death.”

Pugh’s partner, Mayree Worton, said: “What upsets me the most is the bond that our daughter and Gareth had together is no longer there.

“I miss Gareth so much and I just wish we could have him back again, but I know that we can’t.

“The sentencing of Dale Pike is a relief, however it doesn’t make what has happened any less painful, upsetting or distressing and it does not bring Gareth back.”