AN INQUEST into the death of a Blaenavon father of two, whose body was found in the River Taff, in Cardiff, was unable to conclude why or how he went into the water.

The disappearance of Richard Davies, 39, a self-employed builder, from Avon Road, after a pre-Christmas drink in Cardiff with his close friend and business partner Bernard Jeffrey on Friday, December 20, 2002, sparked numerous appeals by his family and detectives in the media.

Mr Davies' body was recovered from the river by police divers on January 15.

Yesterday an inquest into his death, at Cardiff coroner's court, heard Mr Davies was involved in a scuffle with another man in the Reflex bar, St Mary Street, just before he was last seen by Mr Jeffrey.

Jason Daniel Mead, from Fairwater, Cardiff, told the court his friend, Paul James, was butted by Mr Davies before the fight was broken up.

It was at this point, at around 10.45pm, that Mr Davies appeared to have left the bar.

Mr Jeffrey, from Talywain, told the court that CCTV footageshowed a man resembling Mr Davies walking from St Mary Street towards Wood Street, near the River Taff.

After he was shown the video by police, Mr Jeffrey said: "Personally, I thought it was Richard."

Paul Frederick James Chapman, who was walking along the River Taff on the opposite side of the Millennium Stadium with a friend, said he heard a "loud splash".

He saw someone swimming quite strongly in the river but then they went under the water before coming back up again.

"They very quickly went down again and did not resurface," he said.

Mr Chapman shouted, then dialled 999 on his mobile.

Home Office pathologist Dr Stephen Leadbeatter, who carried out the post-mortem examination, said there were no classic signs of drowning and concluded Mr Davies may have died from immersion because the water on that December night was so cold.

"Death can be quite quick. If cold water hits the back of the throat, it can cause the heart to stop."

Detective Constable Paul Jennings, the officer in the case, said Mr Davies was a former Royal Marine Reservist and had undergone sub-aqua training.

Lisa Thomas, representing the family, asked why the police helicopter was not scrambled, but DC Jennings said he was unable to answer the question.

Coroner Dr Lawrence Addicott said: "It is not known why or how Richard went into the water. Certainly there is no evidence he went in to end his life."

Verdict: Accidental death caused by immersion.