A DAD was killed as he tried to save his pet dog which had fallen over a steep cliff into the sea, an inquest has heard.
Gary Conlon, 64, was on holiday with his family when the tragic accident happened at Porth Joke Beach in Crantock, Cornwall, last October.
An inquest at Cornwall Coroner’s Court heard Gary had gone out with his dog called Monty for a morning walk while the rest of the family got ready to go to Padstow for breakfast.
But witness Daniel Beesley saw a man on the headland coastal path waving his arms saying that his dog had gone off the cliff into the water.
In his statement Mr Beesley said he could see Monty swimming in the water and was “fine”;.
But Gary took off his walking boots and socks as he edged along the loose shale.
Mr Beesley said: “I shouted to him two or three times that it was too dangerous and that he would slip but he ignored me.”;
He said Gary, who ran his own electrical business, squatted down to look over the cliff and started to climb down.
He had gone around 4ft when he slipped and fell landing on a flat rock before hitting the water.
Mr Beesley said Gary panicked before waving his arms and tried to scramble to the rocks but was battered about by the strong waves and was swept into a cave.
Pathologist Dr Tim Bracey said Gary, of Eccleshall, Staffordshire, died from cold water immersion and a chest wall injury, and he also had heart disease.
His family had heard emergency services and a helicopter near to where they had their holiday apartment.
They discovered that it was Gary who had been recovered from the sea but efforts to save him failed.
Monty was rescued from the sea and taken to a vet’s for treatment.
Katrina, who was Gary’s wife of 43 years, said he was very fit for his age and had a “zest for life, had a wicked sense of humour and was the life and soul of the party”;.
The couple had been on holiday with their daughter, her partner and their new born baby daughter and regularly visited Cornwall.
Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and said Gary’s boots and the dog lead were found at the top of the headland path.
Officers said Gary had tried to “slide down”; the cliff when he fell and that Monty was rescued alive from the sea.
The assistant coroner for Cornwall Emma Hillson recorded a misadventure conclusion.
