British tourist died after falling into Venice canal, inquest hears

A British tourist on holiday with his partner in Venice drowned after falling into a canal, an inquest has heard.

Chatchawan Thongpia, 31, is believed to have lost his balance while walking around the Italian city on the evening of 3 November last year.

An inquest heard Mr Thongpia, who was living in Scarborough but was also said to have resided at Brooklands Farm in Exeter, was beginning a five-day trip to Venice with his partner Samantha Lichfield.

On their first night, Mr Thongpia, a mechanical engineer, left their hotel to go for a walk and smoke some CBD he had bought that day.

Ms Lichfield said she decided not to go because they had been awake since 2.30am.

Her statement said Mr Thongpia, who was born in Thailand, was going to find a quiet alley so no one could smell the smoke.

She said: "As time was going on I was getting more and more anxious, I didn't expect him to be gone for very long."

Ms Lichfield tried to sleep but was woken by the hotel receptionist telling her the police were downstairs, the inquest heard.

Read more from Sky News:
Growing unease over UK's stuttering efforts to rearm
Jail for Southampton Henry Nowak murder protesters

The inquest at North Yorkshire Coroner's Court heard that a witness was walking around Campo Santa Marina at around 6.30pm and spotted a body in the water.

He attempted to grab the person through the bars of a bridge, but could not hold on to him due to the strong current.

The witness asked another family on the bridge to contact the emergency services, who could not resuscitate Mr Thongpia when he was recovered.

A report from the Italian police said CCTV had captured some of Mr Thongpia's movements, but not the moment he entered the canal.

They said he was believed to have "accidentally fallen into the water, presumably after losing his balance" and drifted tens of metres due to the strong current.

A post-mortem examination found that Mr Thongpia did not have any injuries that suggested he had been assaulted, or that a third party had been involved in his death.

A cannabinoid found in his system was likely to have been consumed three hours earlier, the pathologist said.

His report said it was "possible but not probable" that this had caused Mr Thongpia's motor skills to be impaired.

The medical cause of death was drowning.

Coroner Catherine Devereux said police believed Mr Thongpia may have leaned against a railing and accidentally fallen into the canal.

But she told the hearing: "No one witnessed how he came to be in the canal that evening."

Ms Devereux recorded an open conclusion.

(c) Sky News 2026: British tourist died after falling into Venice canal, inquest hears