A Rainham student plunged to his death in a lake after playing drinking games at a cheap bar night, an inquest heard.

Anthony Soh, 18, disappeared after an evening out with friends at an event where they could drink as much beer, lager or cider as they could before closing time for just £7.

The alarm was raised when the former Rainham Mark Grammar School pupil did not attend his mechanical engineering lectures at his London university the next day.

His family launched a massive internet appeal, but Mr Soh's body was discovered in the lake by Jessica Holloway, who was in a pedalo with her daughter more than two weeks later on April 6.

Mr Soh, of Lovelace Close, Parkwood, had recently told friends at Imperial College he was going to jump into the Serpentine after his exams, Westminster Coroner's Court was told.

But detectives were baffled as to how the teenager came to end up in the icy water on the night of March 22.

The inquest heard he was a user of caffeine pills that, according to friends, would send him 'hyper' and led to him being admitted to hospital after taking an overdose in April 2010.

Mr Soh, who was in the first year of his degree, went with friends to a student union bar in South Kensington on the night he vanished.

Giving evidence, Anthony Tsoi said his friend had drunk four pints of beer and was taking part in drinking games.

He said: "During the day, he was quite hyper. He would move very fast and he was rushing around."

When the group left the bar at about 10.30pm, Mr Tsoi asked Mr Soh to come with him to a friend's house, but he said he would return to halls of residence. It was the last anyone saw of him.

He said Mr Soh had told him he believed he suffered from bipolar disorder, though the inquest heard there was no medical evidence to support this.
The cause of death was immersion.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said: "Whether he slipped by accident or deliberately jumped in and suffered cold water shock, I'm satisfied he died as the result of an accident.

"This is no doubt an absolutely tragic loss of life - such a young man on the brink of his life."

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