The death of British diver Paul Swain in the wreck of the Gozo ferry Xlendi could have been avoided had there been proper warning signs of danger, an inquest at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court has been told.

Mr Swain, 48, died on November 3 last year,

Divers who had accompanied Mr Swain said that despite thoroughly researching the trip, if there had been clear warning signs at the entrance of the wreck they would probably have gone elsewhere, the Hartlepool Mail reported.

"All members of the group agreed that one sign was face down at the entrance, another was obstructed and a third was facing out to sea at the opposite end of the wreck," it was reported.

Mr Swain became lost in the wreck when he and two other divers became separated as visibility dropped to zero. The other two managed to find their way to the surface after cutting short their search for Mr Swain as their oxygen began to run out.

The body was recovered 15 days later. A post-mortem examination showed Mr Swain died of asphyxiation.

Hartlepool coroner Malcolm Donnelly recorded a verdict of accidental death.

He said: "He died doing something he loved. It is not a given, to all of us, to die doing something we loved." Mr Swain leaves his fiancée Louise Walsh, his father Tom and six brothers and sisters.