A CANAL boat enthusiast who drank 10 pints of beer on a night out with a friend returned to his boat, fell into a river and drowned.

Blood samples taken from Leslie Georgeson, aged 53, formerly of Stockton Heath, revealed that he would have been five times over the legal limit to drive when he fell into the River Weaver, near Acton Bridge.

An inquest in Crewe heard that the reading was also more than enough to kill him from alcohol poisoning.

The inquest heard that on April 13, Mr Georgeson, a retired HGV driver, who spent his time navigating the canals of Cheshire, moored his boat Valhalla at Acton Bridge.

James Hart, who stayed with him from time to time, arrived and at 6pm the friends went to the Leigh Arms, which was 250 yards away.

They stayed until 11.30pm and on the way back Mr Georgeson took a short cut. It is unclear what happened next as Mr Hart had also had a lot to drink.

Mr Hart said: "I only realised he was in the water when he surfaced.

"I told him to give me his hand and he did lift it up slightly. I went to get help from the only house which had lights on.

"I woke up my friend Trevor Blackhurst who was in the adjacent boat, and he managed to get hold of the body with a hook to prevent it from floating away."

Cheshire's coroner Nicholas Rheinberg said: "He died from drowning and as the result of an accident."