<b>A man drowned in a bath full of baked beans while raising money for Prince William's air ambulance service, an inquest heard yesterday.</b>

German Heinz Muller, who has lived in Suffolk most of his life, wanted to raise £300 for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, which currently boasts Prince William as one of its crew.

But an inquest at Ipswich Coroners Court heard Mr Muller died an agonising death when the charity stunt in a village pub near Ixworth went tragically wrong.

Coroner Charles Gaskin was told an old iron bath had been placed in the public bar at the Dog and Duck pub in Little Brimming - and filled with 500 tins of baked beans, which were donated by a local supermarket because they were passed the sell by date.

Mr Muller had to strip to his boxers and lay in the bath for 24 hours in order to raise cash for the air ambulance, which provides fast-response cover across East Anglia.

But at 4.30pm on Friday, October 9, while the landlord Simon Youngman was in the cellar changing a barrel, Mr Muller fell asleep and drowned.

Mr Youngman told the hushed inquest: "I was only downstair for a few minutes. When I got back to the bar, I could not see Heinz in the bath. I assumed he must have given up and got out, perhaps he was in the lavatory.

"Thinking back now it was ironic, because I remember Don't Leave Me This Way by the Communards was playing on the juke box at the time.

"He was still missing at 8pm when the bar was very busy. Then one of the regulars thought to check the actual bath. It was terribly distressing when they found poor Heinz in there."

 

Speaking outside the court, neighbour Jack Bentley said: "It's such a terrible shame. He was so full of beans."

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