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A DAD-OF-TWO devastated by the death of his brother in the River Tawe told friends he wanted to join him and was found months later floating in the city's marina.

The body of 24-year-old Lee Bradnum was discovered in the water on August 3, 2008, just seven months after brother Shaun Bowen also met his death when he fell from Quay Parade road bridge into the river below.

An inquest heard how car valeter Lee, of Woodford Road, Blaenymaes, had been prescribed anti-depressants after being deeply affected by the loss, and in the months following his brother's death he would become very upset and emotional when he had been drinking.

DI Andy Hughes told the hearing at Swansea Civic Centre that on one occasion he had gone into woodland near his home with a quantity of tablets and a bottle of whisky, saying he "wanted to be with Shaun".

He added: "He would call his family in the early hours and said he did not want to live without him." Last December, an inquest into the death of 21-year-old postal worker Shaun, also of Blaenymaes, recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Relatives returned to the Civic Centre yesterday to hear evidence in the case of Lee, father of twin boys, now aged almost three.

The inquest was told that on the last day that he had been seen alive, July 28, 2008, Mr Bradnum had been released on bail after appearing before city magistrates on an assault charge.

A number of witnesses told how they had seen Mr Bradnum drinking later that day. Andrew Thomas said he had met Mr Bradnum in the street, and they had gone back to his St Thomas home, where he invited Lee to sleep off the effects of two bottles of sherry he had drunk.

Leave your Lasting Tribute to Lee Bradnum

Leave your Lasting Tribute to Shaun Bowen

But after staying a while, Mr Bradnum had left, and later called nearby at the house of another friend, Mark Walker.

Mr Walker, an old school friend, told the inquest that he thought Mr Bradnum had been particularly drunk.

"He was kissing and hugging us and telling us how much he loved us. But he was also talking to himself. He was saying 'I can't do that. I should not do that'. I asked what he was talking about, but he did not answer."

Mr Walker's father Glyn paid a taxi to take him home to Blaenymaes, but instead he had got out and had gone for another drink at the Ship Inn.

Landlord Anthony Tyrrell, said he thought that Mr Bradnum had been drinking, but did not consider him particularly drunk, and had even bought him a pint. Lee left at closing time, saying goodbye to friends as he left. It was the last time he was seen alive.

His body was pulled out of the city's marina eight days later. Pathologist Andrew Davidson carried out the post mortem on Mr Bradnum's body.

He said there was no evidence of illegal drug abuse, but his blood alcohol level suggested he had been three-and-a-half times over the drink-drive limit. And although it was difficult to ascertain for certain the cause of death, due to decomposition, it was likely to be due to the effects of immersion in water.

Recording an open verdict, coroner Philip Rogers said he could not conclude that Mr Bradnum had deliberately taken his life.

Mr Rogers said: "The effects on a person of that level of alcohol depends on their tolerance of alcohol. Mr Bradnum was a regular and fairly heavy drinker, so the effects might not have been so severe. The factor that obviously had to be considered of the effect on Mr Bradnum is the death of his brother Shaun early that year. Sadly, Mrs Bowen has had to come here on two occasions in a matter of months.

"Clearly the death of Shaun Bowen had a significant effect on Lee Bradnum, who said he was devastated by his death. It is perfectly possible that he could have entered the water unintentionally. There is nothing to say it was a deliberate act, not withstanding the comments he made about wanting to be with his brother."

The Independent Police Complaints Commission found that there had been no procedural fault or other grounds for concern in the way officers had treated Mr Bradnum prior to his death.

Swansea dad-of-two 'wanted to be with brother who drowned'