A GRANDAD died after crashing his ride-on lawnmower into a garden pond, an inquest heard.
David Woodhouse, 69, was cutting the grass at home in Norfolk when the horror unfolded.
The dad-of-three became trapped under the mower after it crashed into the pond.
His wife Jacqueline, who was walking the dog at the time, went to investigate after she could no longer hear the sound of the mower.
She jumped in the pond and managed to free her husband of 42 years with the help of family members and neighbours.
David was rushed to hospital but tragically couldn’t be saved and died three days later.
An inquest heard how the tragedy took place on August 23 after David and Jacqueline had eaten dinner together.
After hearing rain was forecast for the next day, the grandad went out to mow the lawn just after 6.30pm.
Jacqueline told the court: “I decided to walk our dog and as I left the house, we waved at each other.
“I popped in next door [to run an errand]. I was gone five minutes at the most.
“As I was walking past our drive, I realised that the lawn mower – a ride-on type – was not going, so I popped back home to see David.
“I walked around our back garden. As I approached the pond at the front of the house, I could see the lawn mower upside down in the pond.
“It wasn’t until I got really close to the edge of the pond that I could see him there.”
A post mortem found David died from a hypoxic ischemic brain injury due to accidental drowning.
Norfolk senior coroner Jacqueline Lake ruled his death as “accidental”.
Paying tribute, wife Jacqueline said: “[David] was much-loved by myself and his family. He was a really lovely man, he was the love of my life, and we were very happy. He was an amazing person.
“He was a very loving and devoted husband, father, father-in-law, and grandfather. He was just amazing.
“He was my everything and my best friend. He was my first and only boyfriend – I had been with him since I was aged 16. He was just utterly devoted to his wife and his family.”
