A MAN leapt from a river bridge in front of his horrified grandparents after he had been accused of an assault on a girl, an inquest into his death heard yesterday.

The grandparents of former TA soldier Gareth Mutlow went out looking for him after hearing of the accusation. They spotted him walking across the A48 bridge over the Wye at Chepstow, the inquest was told.

But when they drew alongside him in their car and asked him to get in, the 24-year-old glanced at them and, without speaking, leapt into the river below.

Witnesses heard him shouting moments later that he could not swim. Emergency services were called but he was not seen again and his body was not found till a month later at Beachley Slip.

Assistant Gloucestershire coroner Katy Skerrett ruled there was not enough evidence to prove that Mr Mutlow intended to end his life. She recorded an open verdict.

The inquest head Mr Mutlow, who worked for a Newport tile company and lived in Chepstow, had allegedly assaulted a young woman on February 12 this year.

His mother, Carol Anne, had a phone call from the girl's mother at 2.20pm that day to tell her of the allegation.

In a statement Mrs Mutlow said she then tried to ring her son but got no answer. Her father Jim and mum Eileen then went out looking for her son.

She said her son had never threatened to do anything like what happened. But he had been turned down by the Army in 2009 and in 2010 he had spent some time in prison, which left him 'quiet and morose.'

Elaine Mutlow said in a statement that she and her husband pulled up alongside Mr Mutlow on the bridge.

"I wound down the window and shouted 'Get in boy' and he turned towards me," she stated. "He glanced at me and turned away and just jumped over the railings into the river."

Patrick Roche, who was near the Boat Inn at Chepstow at the time, said he heard 'an almightly crash' and saw a 'massive amount of ripples' on the river surface.

A couple of seconds later Mr Mutlow surfaced, put his hands up and called 'I can't swim.'

Mr Roche said he shouted to him to try to swim and he dialled 999. He saw Mr Mutlow 'struggling' in the water and then being carried down to the bridge and disappearing from view.

Pc Stephen Memory said Gwent police were contacted at 2.26pm on Feb 12 by a woman alleging an assault by Mr Mutlow, who had left the scene of the alleged incident by the time officers got there.

At 2.46pm, just 20 minutes later, police received the report of him jumping into the river.

The coroner said Mr Mutlow's jump appeared to be a 'snap decision' and the evidence fell far short of him having decided to kill himself.