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A father grieving the loss of his son has expressed frustration, feeling that the police neglected his case after the young man went missing during severe flooding. Nineteen-year-old Alan Hirst was cycling home in Adforton, Herefordshire, in February when he apparently fell from his bicycle into floodwater on the A4110 road. It is believed that Alan suffered a cardiac arrest as he entered the water.
Concerns have been raised by Alan’s family regarding the police’s handling of the search operation. Steve Hirst, Alan’s father, told the BBC, “It was like he was just discarded.” A coroner’s report highlighted that the investigation suffered because of a lack of specialist search officers capable of reviewing important decisions during the search. In response, West Mercia Police have indicated they are increasing the number of trained officers in the coming months.
Alan’s mother, Hayley, described her son as “very charismatic” and full of energy, saying, “You knew when he was in the room because it just lit up.” Alan, originally from Blackpool, typically returned home late at night, so his family did not initially realize he was missing. When they gathered the next day, Hayley sensed something was wrong. Alan’s body was discovered on 8 February in a ditch beside the A4110, close to the location where he disappeared. Hayley emotionally recalled the difficulty of the search: “You can’t put it into words how hopeless you feel when you’re searching. And then you find out they were under your nose the whole time in dirty ditch water that whole time. It’s heartbreaking.”
During the inquest, it was revealed that the police knew from Alan’s last mobile phone activity that he had been near the flooded A4110 between 23:15 and 23:30 GMT. However, a Police Search Adviser (PolSA) decided not to conduct a search of the floodwaters due to safety concerns. No specialist adviser was available the following day to reassess this decision. When the area was finally deemed safe, officers found Alan’s body within 20 minutes of searching. Hayley shared her anger, saying, “And that’s what makes me so angry because that’s the bit that could have been avoided.” She also criticized the PolSA’s claim during the inquest that the phone location data “might not be that accurate,” describing it as feeling like “one excuse after another.” The coroner, James Bennett, stressed in his report that the lack of around-the-clock access to specialist police search officers poses a serious risk of future deaths. Supt Stuart Bill of West Mercia Police acknowledged the importance of PolSAs in missing person searches and said the force was working with the College of Policing to improve the availability of qualified search advisers.
Hayley also raised concerns about other aspects of the search, including the absence of appeals for public information and the fact that Alan’s bike was never recovered. She has called for warning signs to be installed along the A4110, which she refers to as a “high-risk road,” following her son’s death. Herefordshire Council responded that it would continue to evaluate and prioritize road and drainage improvements based on evidence, noting that flooding can occur during periods of heavy rain
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