Young dad, 21, died after jumping into river to save dogs

A 21-year-old dad-of-one died from a heart attack after jumping into a river to try and save his dog, an inquest has concluded. Ryan Wells, also known as Ryan Best, was walking his three dogs along the River Weaver in Northwich with his girlfriend Georgia Garnett and her brother Ray during the early hours of March 28, 2020.

When they were by the river near Weir Street at around 4.40am, one of the three dogs 'excitedly' jumped over a low fence and into the water.

After losing sight of him, Ryan went in after the dog. Georgia saw him struggling and bravely jumped in after him. She then got into trouble too and her brother tied the three dog leads together, which Georgia held onto until emergency services arrived, CheshireLive reports.

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She was helped out of the river before being taken to hospital in an ambulance, while the dog was also found and rescued. But Ryan, from Crewe, had disappeared under the water and was found dead later that day.

During an inquest held in Warrington on Wednesday (May 11), it was confirmed Ryan had not drowned but had suffered a cardiac arrest after entering the cold water. Assistant coroner Jean Harkin recorded a conclusion of misadventure.

A statement from Georgia was read out at the inquest by Ms Harkin. She said the three of them had been struggling to sleep so had decided to go for a walk with their dogs at around 3.30am. She said: "They got to a knee-high fence and stopped there for about 10 seconds. But then their dog jumped over the fence and into the water.

"Ryan used his phone as a torch and Georgia had an actual torch to try and look for their dog. They couldn't find him and started to panic so