ONE of only a handful of people known to have survived falling from the Humber Bridge was found dead in Hull's Queens Garden pond.
Gary Jones, 54, who had a history of alcoholism, was found by a healthcare student on her way to Hull College on June 4.
The inquest heard Mr Jones died from drowning, although experts were unable to establish how he had come to end up in the pond, saying they could not rule out a slip, fall, or "medical event".
Mr Jones had attempted suicide in the past and been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, but no suicide note, or anything indicating he intended to take his own life, had been left on this occasion.
In 2001, Mr Jones had told his son Gareth Jones how he had jumped from the bridge.
Only five people are known to have survived falls from the bridge in its 33-year history.
Gareth Jones told the inquest in Hull: "It was a miracle that he survived. He said he went to the bridge one day, but returned home. He couldn't bring himself to do it.
"He went back the next day when he was sober. He said that he was seeing things at the time.
"He said that he could see family members and they were telling him to jump, so he jumped.
"After he hit the water, he managed to swim a short distance and he was picked up."
The inquest heard Mr Jones, of Grange Close, west Hull, had sought help to beat alcohol and depression.
In 2004, Gareth Jones thought his father had "cracked it", but four years later "something happened that made him crack" and he returned to alcohol.
In February this year, he was discharged from Humber NHS Foundation Trust, because he failed to keep appointments or respond to letters and phone calls.
Chantelle Stockwell, who found Mr Jones's body, described how it had been raining on June 4 and she taken shelter under a tree, adjacent to the BBC building, on her way to college.
In a statement submitted to the inquest, she said: "I was eating a packet of crisps. Just as I finished them I was casually looking at the pond and something caught my eye.
"I thought it was a body. I convinced myself it was the back of a head."
Miss Stockwell approached a man and told him what she thought she had seen.
He advised her not to call the police but Miss Stockwell called 999 at 1.20pm despite being concerned she "might be wasting police time".
"I saw two officers wade in and they brought the object to the side," said Miss Stockwell. "I realised I was right and sadly it was the body of a man."
PC Lee Daniel responded to the report "of a suspicious item" in the pond.
"The female was apologetic to us, saying she didn't want to waste our time," he said. "She brought to my attention an object 12m away from the side of the pond. It was difficult to tell what it was.
"The gardens were filling up with people.
"Two officers from the marine section entered the water and nodded at me. I took this to mean that it was a body."
The area was immediately cordoned off.
It is not known how long Mr Jones had been in the water.
Dr Lazslo Karsai, who carried out the post-mortem examination, said blood and urine tests showed a very small amount of alcohol and traces of antidepressant drugs within "therapeutic" doses.
Rosemary Baxter, coroner for Hull and the East Riding, reached an open conclusion.
She said: "It is possible that Mr Jones may have slipped or he may have had a medical event that caused him to fall.
"This cannot be proven, but drowning was the cause of death."
