Alan Hirst

On 12 February 2026 I commenced an investigation into the death of Alan Hirst aged 19 years. The investigation concluded at an inquest held on 15 July 2026.  

The medical cause of death was confirmed at post-mortem examination as: 1a. Immersion in Water. 

How, when and where the death occurred is as follows:  On the evening 5 February 2026 Alan had been with friends in Leintwardine, Herefordshire.  Around 23:00hrs he left on a bicycle in the direction of home. The bike had no lights but it was  understood he was using his mobile phone for illumination. Last activity on his mobile phone  and a credible sighting was around 23:15-23:30hrs. Upon realising he was missing his family  contacted the police at 21:45hrs on 6 February. The police commenced active missing person enquiries. On 8 February he was located deceased in flood water around the A4110 near  Adforton, near the location of his last known mobile phone activity and the credible sighting.  Post mortem examination found no evidence of any traumatic injury or typical evidence of  drowning. It is most likely his death was caused by cardiac arrest upon sudden immersion in  cold water and he was deceased prior to being reported missing.

The conclusion was:  Death was the consequence of immersion in cold flood water. The available evidence does not reveal how Alan came to enter the water.

In addition to ‘how, when, and where’ above, on the specific issue of the role of the PolSA: During a period of severe flooding West Mercia Police could not provide 24/7 PolSA coverage  due to a shortage of PolSAs. When Alan was reported missing by his family on the evening of 6  February the duty PolSA determined the flood water around the last known location should not be searched, in part due to not having all the facts, and in part due to the risk posed by  darkness and very cold conditions. Upon finishing his shift early morning on 7 February he  commenced rest days aware there was no PolSA coverage from 7 February. Through good will  he provided his contact details to the officers leading the missing person enquiry but was not  contacted. The evidence demonstrated that had a PolSA been on duty on 7 February they  would have reviewed the decision not to search the flood water. The following day, on 8  February the investigation team decided to search the flood water around Alan’s last known  location and he was found within 20 minutes.  

Generally, I heard evidence from a West Mercia Police PolSA and the Head of Force  Operations. West Mercia Police currently has nine PolSAs which is insufficient to cover PolSA  responsibilities 24/7 365 days a year. Individual police forces have no control over the number of training places offered by the single authorised provider of the course (Police National  Search Centre). It is not guaranteed all attendees will pass the demanding course. Police  forces then have to wait for further offers of training places. It follows there is no quick fix and  potentially West Mercia Police will persistently be unable to recruit a sufficient number of PolSAs. There was no evidence that the Police National Search Centre takes into account urgent need.

In my opinion unless action is taken to address the above concerns then there is a significant risk of future deaths and I believe each of you have the power to take such action.