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Search forBath student hanged after 'Carnage UK' club night
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 18:12
The family of Gethin Bevan, a biology undergraduate at the University of Bath, were stunned to learn of his death following a night out in October last year.
An inquest into the 20-year-old's death today heard how Welsh-born Gethin was found hanging from a tree behind Club XL in Walcot Street, Bath, by a passer-by after attending a night held by promoters Carnage UK.
The event, an organised pub crawl, sees undergraduates given a souvenir T-shirt and exclusive entry to a number of city-centre night-spots.
Thousands of students take part in events across the country, and many have been cancelled after police and council objections.
The court at Flax Bourton Village Hall was told how post-mortem tests revealed Gethin was more than twice the legal alcohol limit when he died.
Recording an open verdict, Avon coroner Terence Moore said there was no evidence to suggest the keen rugby player wanted to take his own life.
A statement from Mr Bevan's university tutor Adrian Hill was read to the inquest.
Mr Hill said Mr Bevan struggled with the maths degree he initially enrolled on in September 2005 but switched to biology in his second year in January 2007.
Housemate and close friend Jack Wiggins also described Mr Bevan as "intelligent" and a keen sportsman. He told the inquest the switch from maths to biology lifted a weight from his friend's shoulders.
He said: "He was happy to change. He was stressed when he made the decision, but he was happy once he had made the change."
Mr Wiggins and Mr Bevan joined the Carnage UK event around 8pm on October 25 last year.
Mr Bevan was unsure about going out at first as he had an important presentation coming up, Mr Wiggins said.
He continued: "They're specially run nights when you go on a pub crawl. You have to buy a T-shirt. Gethin came out late so he bought it off someone selling one in the street."
The students went to a number of pubs and drank pints of lager and vodka with Red Bull mixers, before arriving at Club XL.
Mr Bevan carried a digital camera with him on the night, which had pictures of the night out.
Mr Wiggins said Mr Bevan "looked happy, just like normal" in the pictures.
Mr Wiggins and Mr Bevan split up in the club to see different friends.
The next morning – October 26 – police officers knocked on Mr Wiggins' door to inform him his friend was found hanged from a tree by a belt earlier that morning.
Mr Wiggins said: "It was a massive shock. Utter disbelief. It was so unexpected. Everything was going right for him, any problems he had were sorted."
Mr Bevan's body was found by nearby resident Ryan Ferguson, who at first thought the student was asleep, the inquest heard.
Sgt Jon Stell told the inquest Mr Bevan's last movements were not captured on any security cameras, and the precise time he left the club could not be determined.
Gethin's grief-stricken father Cerith, a retired police officer from Ammanford in Carmarthenshire, told the inquest he found a packed bag in his son's room after his death.
It contained notes for his presentation, a coat and a bottle of water.
Recording his verdict, Mr Moore said: "The thought he may have taken his own life must be considered. But I reject this. I don't have any evidence to satisfy me that he intended to do this.
"Equally, there's no evidence to suggest this was a prank or accident."
After the hearing, Mr Bevan, who attended with his wife Jacqueline and daughter Sian, said his son had "no reason" to take his own life.
He said: "That's what's hardest to deal with. If we could just attribute it to something."
He said his son was "brilliant" when at Amman Valley Comprehensive School, where he achieved four As at A-level and straight As in his GCSEs.
He said: "He was in a buddy system, where the senior students help the juniors.
"He was always smiling."
Gethin was a first-year student in the department of biology and biochemistry, having studied maths for two years before changing course.
As well as playing number eight for Bath Saracens, he played for the university team and local American football team, Killer Bees.
In his last game for Saracens before he died, he was named man of the match.
Last year then club captain Tony Lai called him a "happy young man with a positive attitude on everything, even if we were losing.
"He always had a massive grin on his face and was a great player."
Paying tribute, his sister Sian said his smile was so wide she nicknamed him Wallace after the character in the animated series of films Wallace and Gromit.
The popular student was living in Oldfield Park with two friends at the time of his death and was a prominent member of the university's Welsh Society.
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