Daredevil photographer drowned after he was sucked into the deadly WHIRLPOOL he was trying to film

Jacob Cockle, 28, gained fame uploading videos of underwater exploits

But he was killed on May 28 last year by a pool in Carnsew Pool, Cornwall

Inquest heard traces of ketamine that contributed to death found in body



A thrill-seeking photographer drowned after he was sucked into a deadly whirlpool he was trying to film, an inquest heard.

Jacob Cockle, 28, often diced with death in the water and uploaded extreme footage to video-sharing sites, where his efforts racked up millions of views.

However, on May 28 last year as a friend looked on, he was dragged under by a whirlpool in Carnsew Pool in the estuary of the River Hayle in Cornwall.



Mr Cockle was wearing a plastic horse's head at the time - a comedy prop he had wanted to include in the footage.



Daredevil: Jacob Cockle, 28, films himself swimming in front of a whirlpool, similar to the one which led to his death in May 2013

Danger: Mr Cockle, shown here inches away from a dangerous whirlpool, uploaded popular videos of his underwater exploits. He died last May, wearing a plastic horse's head, after being dragged under by a similar whirlpool in a river estuary in Cornwall



An inquest in Truro, Cornwall, heard that traces of the tranquilliser drug ketamine were found in his body after it was dragged out of the water.

The coroner also heard that Mr Cockle had severe dyslexia, which affected his judgement.



Mr Cockle had set out to make another video of the dangerous whirlpool, a phenomenon caused by Victorian tunnels designed to funnel sand out of a harbour.

No fear: Mr Cockle was described as a 'free spirit' by his step-father

A friend, 70-year-old David Raine, was filming the incident from the banks but was unable to intervene until Mr Cockle emerged at the other end of the pool.



Recording a verdict of accident death, coroner Andrew Cox, said: 'Jacob went down to the harbour with an expressed intention of recording the whirlpools there.

'I have seen the footage of him being sucked around the whirlpool while wearing the horse's head. There is no doubt that Jacob was a competent waterman.



'There is also no doubt that he was a risk taker. I accept however that those risks were not spontaneous or impulsive but were considered.



'He was an admirable young man who died doing what he loved.'



Mr Raine told the inquest: 'I went down around 7:30pm and he was standing above the pool sort of beckoning to me - he was excited.'

He said Mr Cockle had asked him to pass him a smaller camera which was attached to the end of an 8ft pole.



Mr Raine said: 'He asked me to pass that down because he wanted to do some underwater shots.



'He had a plastic horse's head that he wanted to put on. He wanted to put it on in the whirlpool and for me to film it from above.



'He disappeared and then came up on the other side of the vortex just momentarily, then went down again.'

Ready to go: Mr Cockle films himself immediately before jumping into rough waters in a whirlpool video which was viewed more than 2million times online

Dicing with death: Mr Cockle, circled, was almost smashed against a harbour wall in Newlyn, Cornwall, by a freak wave

There was a sign warning people not to swim, but it did not deter Mr Cockle, whom the inquest heard was a strong swimmer. He had previously posted advice on his Youtube channel explaining how to deal with rough and difficult waters.



After his body was sucked into the 15t tunnel, Mr Cockle emerged at the other end of the pool where Mr Raine was able to drag him to the side while a fisherman dialled 999.



He and a passer-by attempted to revive him before RNLI lifeboat crews arrived and took over.



Deadly: Mr Cockle was dragged through a tunnel by a powerful pool, similar to the one pictured, before he died

Tragedy: Mr Cockle, 28, drowned in Carnsew Pool, near Hayle, Cornwall

Mr Cockle was airlifted to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, where he was later pronounced dead. Later tests confirmed he had drowned.



His mother Carolyn Sheard, 60, also addressed the inquest.



She said: 'He was severely dyslexic. He had no concept of time but always did what he wanted to do. He never had any fear of danger.'



Mr Cockle's step-father Andrew Sheard told the inquest that he would regularly purchase props from charity shops to use while he filmed in the whirlpools.



He was highly regarded for his films and photos, including stunning 2011 images of two surfers being swept off a sea wall by 30ft waves and hurled into the sea.



He nearly died in December 2008 when he became trapped between a stone pier and a freak 30ft wave while surfing near Penzance, Cornwall.



In a statement after the inquest, Mrs Sheard said: 'In his short lifetime Jacob lived life to its fullest. He achieved more than most people can only dream about.

