Kimberley Johnson died while swimming at Strinesdale reservoir in OldhamKimberley Johnson(Image: Facebook)

A boyfriend has told of his desperate efforts to save his partner as she drowned while swimming at an Oldham beauty spot.

Kimberley Johnson got into difficulties moments after entering the water at Strinesdale reservoir in Saddleworth on Sunday, August 17, this year, an inquest heard. The mum-of-three had stripped to her bra and knickers and jumped from a wall displaying a sign warning ‘Danger deep water’.

But the inquest at Rochdale coroners’ court heard that after swimming around for ‘two of three minutes’ the 33-year-old machine operative shouted to Daniel Doherty, her partner of around five years, ‘Dan, I can’t do it’ before going under the water. Despite not being able to swim, Mr Doherty waded into the reservoir and attempted to save Ms Johnson.

In a statement he told the inquest: “She told me she was a good swimmer. She said she was going to teach me.

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“She said she wanted to jump in. ‘It’s nice and shallow. I’ve been watching people jump in there for years’.

“She jumped in. I think she went too far out. She said to me ‘I can’t do it’. I told her to kick her legs.

“She’d only been in the water two or three minutes before she started to struggle. I went into the water chest height but lost my foot. I managed to swim to her. I kept getting dragged under the water.

“I just wanted to get her out. I tried to pull her. She was going under the water a few times. I had hold of her. She was pulled to the bottom. I couldn’t see her. I struggled to get out.”

Ms Johnson drowned while swimming at Strinesdale reservoir(Image: Google Maps)

The inquest heard the couple had been at the reservoir for around two hours and had drunk two cans of Stella each and had smoked a small amount of cannabis before Ms Johnson’s death. Mr Doherty called 999 at 4.51pm, but due to the remote location emergency services didn’t reach the scene until 5.11pm.

A search was carried out and Ms Johnson’s body was recovered from the water at about 6.45pm. Her bag was found on the wall, while her clothes were piled neatly on the floor nearby.

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Police said there were no suspicious circumstances or third party involvement in her death.

A post mortem gave Ms Johnson’s cause of death as drowning. Senior coroner Joanne Kersley recorded a conclusion of accidental death.