A man drowned after falling into a hidden drainage channel while out walking on isolated moors above Keighley

Nicholas Craven, 55, fractured his ankle in the fall and is thought to have either lost consciousness through the pain, or slipped into the water because he could not stand up any longer. But Assistant Coroner Caroline Sumeray told members of Mr Craven’s family he had not suffered for long.

The body of Mr Craven, of Aylesbury Street, Ingrow, Keighley, was found by Yorkshire Water surveyors in the water channel on Oxenhope Moor, last November, a month after he had been reported missing.

He was found face down with his head submerged in the water. Detective Inspector Ryan Bragg told the inquest a thorough investigation had been carried out and there were no suspicious circumstances.

Mrs Sumeray said it was a “desperately sad case.”

She said Mr Craven had probably been having a wander across the moors when he apparently tumbled into the drainage channel.

She said: “I adopt the view that he simply did not see this drainage channel. It’s not terribly obvious in daylight and it would have been impossible to have spotted it in darkness.” She recorded a verdict that Mr Craven’s death was accidental.