A BRIDGWATER teenager drowned in a pool at a villa in Tenerife after a night out drinking, an inquest has heard.

A friend said that 17-year-old Leah Wilson may have been diving into the pool in the early hours of the morning to try to find a 10 euro note that had been lost in the water.

The inquest was told that that Leah was found submerged in the pool with some goggles on, but not put on correctly.

Her friend Renee Godbeer, now 19, said she woke at around 7.25am on August 12, 2019, to see Leah's lifeless body in the pool.

She screamed and woke the rest of the family group who tried to resuscitate Leah, but she could not be saved.

A post mortem on the island concluded she died from drowning.

A blood alcohol level showed she was 1.5 times the drink drive limit and there was some cocaine in her system.

The inquest in Taunton heard Leah had gone to the private villa with its own swimming pool in a group of a dozen family and friends for a ten-day holiday.

Leah and Renee had a family evening together before they went off to party with some local youngsters.

They returned to the villa at 3am and played cards.

Leah wanted to bathe in the pool at 5am, but when they touched the water they changed their minds and decided to go to bed.

But when Renee woke she spotted Leah and raised the alarm.

The assistant coroner Timothy Hayden said: "The circumstances have not been determined in the course of this investigation, but the cause of death is drowning."

He recorded an accidental death conclusion.

Following Leah's death, a fundraising page was set up to help her family raise £10,000 to bring her body back to the UK.

Leah was a student at Robert Blake Science College in Bridgwater.

At the time, her headteacher Deb Loveridge paid tribute to Leah on behalf of herself and the Robert Blake staff.

She said: "The death of a young person is always tragic however, it is heartbreaking and shocking when it is someone in your community loved by so many.

"Leah Wilson spent five years at Robert Blake and was a popular student. She was diligent, hardworking and a valued member of the student body.

"Leah met all of her challenges with determination. She will be sorely missed by so many. Our thoughts are with her closest friends and family at this sad time. RIP Leah."