A WIRRAL surgeon drowned while snorkling on the last day of a family holiday in the Maldives, an inquest has heard.

The body of Mr Ali Bakran, from Heswall, was found in the sea near the Meedhupparu Island Resort on the morning of August 27 this year.

Coroner’s officer Donald Johnstone told the hearing, held this afternoon at Wallasey Town Hall, that Mr Bakran, 61, his wife Margaret and their daughter were due to fly home on the day of the tragedy.

Mr Bakran, who lived in Quarry Road East, had decided to have one last snorkel before they left the resort.

His body was repatriated to England and a postmortem by Dr Brian Rodgers at Arrowe Park Hospital on September 10 revealed he had drowned. There was no evidence to suggest what caused him to drown.

Wirral Coroner's Court was told Mr Bakran was an eminent consultant vascular surgeon who worked at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

Recording a narrative verdict, Wirral Coroner Christopher Johnston said: “"There are no clues as to what could have led to Mr Bakran's drowning."

A narrative verdict is one in which the coroner simply records the circumstances surrounding the death.