The family of a young dad who died in an accident at a lake in West Sussex say they are glad a coroner is taking action to prevent others from losing someone they love in a similar way.

Shane Gray, from Leysdown, was working at Lakeside Holiday Park, near Chichester, on a hot day in July last year when he decided to take a swim in one of the lakes, his inquest heard on Wednesday.

However, the 27-year-old soon got into trouble and disappeared under the water. Emergency services quickly arrived at the scene but were unable to revive him.

At Shane’s inquest in Crawley, his mum Poppy Cooper said: “What we are here [for] is to say that a 27-year-old boy has lost his life. Two little children left with no father. What we want is for measures to be taken and justice to be done.”

Senior coroner Penelope Schofield criticised the lack of warning signs along the lake’s edge.

She said: “It is quite clear that we need to learn from Shane’s death and protect others. There is a risk to others, in particular young children.

"The signage in my view and supported by the evidence was inadequate. It was inadequate for those who cannot read and it was inadequate for children.”

Shane’s partner Dannielle Gray told the inquest Shane did everything he could to give his family the best quality of life possible.

“He is the most hard-working person I have ever met in my life. He always did everything for everyone without wanting anything back.”

The inquest heard the former Minster College pupil was a keen jet skier and loved the water.

Shane’s cousin Stephen Gray was working at the holiday park with him and another man on July 25 last year.

The three men were contractors being paid to put up new caravans and take down old ones.

Stephen said after work Shane went into the lake for a swim, but soon got into trouble. He told the inquest: “He said ‘lads I can’t breathe’.

“I immediately thought Shane was mucking around.”

However, Stephen saw Shane go under the water.

Stephen and the other man dived into the lake but he got into difficulty himself and the pair had to get out.

They dialled 999 and the emergency services arrived soon after, but Shane was pronounced dead at the scene.

Park manager Jonathan Hodson told the inquest swimming is not allowed in the lakes.

He said since the incident new warning signs had been put up on the park.

“I have ordered more signs. I felt we had to try harder.”

However he added: “Can we stop this happening? No I do not think we can. There is always an opportunity to get into water.”

Senior coroner Penelope Schofield returned a conclusion of accidental death but said she was also going to write a prevention of future deaths report.

Coroners in the UK have the duty to make reports where they believe action should be taken to prevent future deaths.

Lakeside Holiday Park must provide a response to the report.

Ms Schofield offered her condolences and said: “We can see how tempting it must have been for someone to go into a lake when it is 30 degrees.”

"It is quite clear that we need to learn from Shane’s death and protect others. There is a risk to others, in particular young children" - senior coroner Penelope Schofield

After the inquest, Shane's partner Dannielle and brother Steven Cooper said they were glad the coroner was taking action.

They said: "We are glad that the coroner has seen there's a problem and is now taking action to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else or cause distress and heartache to other families."

They added: "It's been a very tough time for our families, but now we just want to have the record set straight about the loss of Shane so that there are no more rumours about his death.

"He and his partner have two young children that have got to grow up and will read and hear things about their father.

"The inquest has allowed us to understand the truth and we hope that this will allow everyone not to believe everything they have read or heard elsewhere."

Dannielle and Steven also wanted to thank all those who had sent condolences and supported their families.

"It really means a lot and we are grateful," they added.