THE assistant coroner for Herefordshire has praised the efforts of the people who tried to save the lives of two young men who drowned in a Herefordshire quarry.

Assistant coroner Roland Wooderson recorded a verdict of accidental death by drowning at the inquest into the deaths of Russell O’Neill and Justas Juzenas.

The pair both died at Gullet Quarry near Ledbury in the summer on separate days.

The inquest at Hereford Town Hall last week heard that Russell, a ‘fit and healthy’ footballer who dreamed of playing for Liverpool FC, was swimming in the quarry with friends Kieran Scollan and Jay Roberts on July 6 - one of the hottest days of the summer.

Although the 17-year-old from Worcester could swim, his mother, Tina, said he wasn’t ‘a strong swimmer’ and he got into difficulty in the water and, despite the efforts of his friends and members of the public, Russell drowned.

His body was recovered by the emergency services a few hours later.

Justas, originally from Lithuania, was living at Three Crosses Road in Ross-on-Wye when he died. He was visiting the quarry with girlfriend Natasha Korvelis six days after Russell’s death.

The 22-year-old DJ, who used the name Stifas, was swimming when he got in to difficulty and called for help.

Claire Burrus was at the quarry with friends when she heard Justas’ call, and swam towards him.

She said she got ‘within reaching distance’ of him but he disappeared under the water, and when she dived under to help him it was pitch black ‘like someone had turned the lights off’.

Otto Kironsky was also at the quarry with his wife. He swam out to help but could not reach Justas in time.

Mr Kironsky said: “It was quite upsetting. I thought maybe I could have saved him had I jumped in to the water 15 seconds earlier.”

But Mr Wooderson praised those who tried to help.

He said: "I was very impressed that numerous persons tried to assist Russell and Justas. I know Russell's friends tried to assist him, as for Justas, people tried to help despite knowing the dangers they faced."

The coroner said 'short of shutting the quarry down, one can never guarantee there will no further fatalities'. He added that the 'cold water' was a contributory factor in the deaths.

Russell’s father John told the inquest that more should be done to warn people of the dangers of swimming in the water.

“There will be more deaths at the site unless it is made safer before next spring,” he claimed.

“I don’t feel enough has been done at the quarry to discourage people from going in the water . It seems too little too late.”

Although there were five warning signs at the quarry as well as a life-saving ring, a number of witnesses said the signs were not clearly visible.

However, Stephen Bound, the director of the Malvern Hills Conservators who are responsible for the quarry's management, disputed this, saying signs ‘were clearly visible’.

He told the hearing that the group had commissioned the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to produce a report which would direct them on ‘appropriate’ safety measures for the future.

He added that “cold water” signs were now in place together with the grid reference and postcode of the quarry for the public to give to the emergency services.

Five people have died at the quarry in the past 20 years.