Culvert where Noah went missing not high-risk, inquest told

A culvert close to where Noah Donohoe went missing was not a high-risk site, according to an expert witness at an inquest into the schoolboy's death.

Noah's naked body was found six days after he went missing in north Belfast in June 2020.

The discovery was made in an underground water tunnel more than 600 metres downstream from the culvert inlet close to where the 14-year-old was last seen.

Jeremy Benn, a hydrologist and chartered engineer, who has provided training about culvert operations to the Department for Infrastructure, appeared as a witness at the inquest on Thursday.

A barrister for the coroner described the culvert as a "dark, cold and confusing" place which was "seriously dangerous" for anyone gaining unauthorised access.

Benn, who has been instructed by the Department for Infrastructure, responded by stating that he would refer to it as "not high risk".

The witness was also asked by the lawyer why he believed there was no need for a circular security fence around the culvert inlet to prevent unauthorised access.

The lawyer said it could have prevented Noah from accessing the culvert from the back of houses at Northwood Road where he was last seen before his disappeared.

Benn responded by telling the coroner Mr justice Rooney and the jury that such a fence would have been vandalised.

He said, "As soon as that fence went up, I'm sure they'd have taken the fence down".

"It's very difficult to do," he added.

Nearby homeowners, known as riparian owners, are entitled to access the land around the watercourse running to the culvert entrance.

Benn went on to say that the erection of circular palisade fencing as a security measure around the north Belfast culvert would have to be replicated at around 700 similar culvert sites across Northern Ireland.

He said it would pose issues around planning permission and cost which he estimated could amount to a combined sum of £40m across Northern Ireland.

"It would just be a disproportionate waste of money," he said.

The witness explained that he believes local landowners would object to restrictions to a watercourse and "they will start damaging the fence".

He said it would be very difficult to do in practice.

"It's not an easy fix," he added.

After being reminded by the coroner's barrister that Noah went into the north Belfast culvert and "is dead", the expert witness insisted that deaths around culverts are "very rare".

He said it's almost impossible to stop people from gaining access to culverts "if they are determined" and because of "human nature".

He also said he is aware of YouTube videos where people have gained unauthorised access to culverts, and he added that he heard that "a journalist went down the culvert" linked to Noah's death in North Belfast.

The witness was also questioned about the use of a debris screen at the north Belfast site as opposed to a security screen.

The inquest has previously heard that a debris screen is favoured over a security screen as a mechanism for flood prevention, and that this was the case at the north Belfast site.

Benn explained how a security screen can cause flooding, and he said flooding in the West Link underpass in Belfast in 2008 was caused by a security screen.

He also said a security screen was responsible for flooding on two occasions at Letterkenny hospital in Co Donegal.

The witness also described his own experience going down the north Belfast culvert during an assessment.

He said there was a shallow stream of water at the bottom of the pipe, but it was possible to crawl with hands and legs to the side of the water.

"It wasn't particularly wet," he said.

Benn also explained that if someone travelled through the tunnel "at crawling speed" they could go to the end and back in two hours.