Lifeguards fail to save drowning violinist because of ‘glare on pool’, inquest hears

Dominic Hopkins, 57, is the former leader of Norwich Philharmonic

Three lifeguards failed to save a violinist from drowning for seven minutes because of a “glare on [a] pool”, an inquest has heard.

Dominic Hopkins, 57, former leader of Norwich Philharmonic, died in 2022 after getting into difficulty at University of East Anglia’s (UEA) Sportspark.

An inquest into his death heard that glare from lights and windows on the water of the pool may have been why lifeguards did not see him motionless in the water.

Just a week before his death, he played in the orchestra pit at Norwich Theatre for the Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society production of The Sound of Music.

His family said he always wore either a bright pink or blue swim cap.

Giving evidence, Peter Jefferson-Wall, who was one of several “casual” lifeguards at the time of the incident, said: “Glare is a major risk in all swimming pools.

“As it was a long time ago, I cannot recall if there was glare – going off the facts I am going to say there was glare as I did not see him.

“There were a fair few people in the pool, so the water was moving a lot – glare aside, a lot of swimming going on in the water can affect visibility a lot.”

It was explained to the Norfolk Coroner’s Court that each lifeguard would sit in a chair, two fitted with nine underwater cameras each. Lifeguards would rotate chairs every 20 minutes, with a break from monitoring the pool every 40 minutes.

It was during a handover period at 2.55pm that they were alerted by another swimmer that Mr Hopkins was motionless on the pool floor.

He had been swimming in the shallow end of the pool, which would have been “no deeper than 1.35metres” at the time.

While the pool was emptied, the lifeguards retrieved Mr Hopkins from the water and started CPR.

A statement from his family confirmed that he was epileptic and was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a disorder of the body’s connective tissues. To help with this condition, the musician would swim “almost daily”.

A witness, who helped Mr Hopkins out of the pool, said she had seen him on the floor of the pool but initially assumed he had been undertaking breath-holding exercises.

She alerted the lifeguards as soon as she realised Mr Hopkins was in difficulties.

Mr Hopkins was given CPR and resuscitated at the scene before being taken to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital by air ambulance on Jan 27, 2022.

He died the following day.

A system which uses artificial intelligence has since been put in place to monitor swimmers and a film added to the windows to reduce glare.

Mr Hopkins became a familiar face on Norwich’s busking scene during the 1980s when he performed with a classical music group on London Street.

He led the Norwich Philharmonic between 2008 and 2026 and in a tribute the orchestra said: “He was an exceptionally fine violinist and a passionate musician, much-loved by all of us.”

The inquest continues.

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