A former England rugby star was almost three times over the drink drive limit when he drowned while trying to cross a swollen ford in his 4×4, an inquest heard.
Tom Voyce, 43, died trying to cross Northumberland‘s River Aln in his Toyota Hilux in December during Storm Darragh.
The body of Voyce, who won nine caps for England before retiring in 2013, was found four days later in deep water following a major search.
Voyce had attended a shoot at his brother-in-law’s farm on 7 December last year before spending the evening with him at the Queen’s Head pub, Glanton.
An inquest heard he had not taken his usual route home in the conditions that night.
Coroner Andrew Hetherington ruled the death as an accident.
After his death, Anna Voyce, Voyce’s widow with whom she has one son, said in a statement: “Absolutely devastated and heartbroken doesn’t even describe how we feel.”
Hugh Wood, the brother of Voyce’s widow, told the hearing he last saw him at around 11.45pm in the bar.
The shoot had welcomed around 16 guests but was hampered by the weather.
People had helped themselves to a bottle of port during the day, Mr Wood said, before the event ended at 5.30pm when everyone was extremely wet.
Mr Wood, who said the storm left local roads water-logged, added that alcohol was consumed at the pub but he did not observe any ill-effects in Voyce that evening.
The distance from there to Voyce’s home in Alnwick was around eight miles, Mr Wood estimated.
The next day Mrs Voyce raised the alarm when her husband failed to come home, with Mr Wood saying “it dawned on us to look in the fords and that’s where we came across his vehicle”.
Pathologist Dr Clive Bloxham told the hearing that the cause of death was immersion in water.
He was found by a diver on 12 December in two metres of water in a mill pond and there were no signs of external damage.
Read More: Wife of ex-England rugby player Tom Voyce says she is ‘devastated and heartbroken’ by his death
Dr Bloxham said there were no signs of drugs “but he did have a high blood alcohol level”.
There was a reading of 215mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The drink drive limit is 80mg.
Dr Bloxham said: “Despite the possibility of tolerance to drinking alcohol, this level would be expected to have impaired his co-ordination and judgement.
“You would expect him to have a significant degree of intoxication with this level and impaired decision-making prior to his death.”
Queen’s Head publican, Lisa Chisholm, estimated Voyce had drunk around four bottles of Magners cider and bought drinks for other people.
Detective Constable Victoria Henderson said part of the Hilux’s number plate had broken off at the water’s edge, indicating the vehicle had approached Abberwick ford at speed.
The vehicle was found in reverse gear, which led to the belief that Voyce may have tried to go back the way he came when the vehicle stalled in the water.
It was subsequently damaged by repeatedly hitting a footbridge near the ford, before water levels dropped, allowing it under the bridge.
DC Henderson said it was unclear if he tried to get out of the vehicle himself or he had been swept away by the force of the water.
The flooding would have given the illusion the road was flat when in reality the ford dropped 6ft, the inquest heard.
