Student nurse, 19, died after going for midnight swim with friends

A teenager died after going for a midnight swim with friends during the 'biggest adventure of her young life'. Nursing student Millie Ann Gentry, 19, was taking part in a one-month volunteering placement at a hospital in Ghana, West Africa, when tragedy struck in the early hours of March 17 last year.

Millie, from Gomersal, West Yorks, had been staying in lodgings in Busua, a beach resort, with her friend Erin Byrnes, from Halifax, when they decided to go for a swim with another friend, Lewis Mallinson, an inquest was told. The friends had gone to a pool bar, had a couple of drinks and were then told to return to their room as there was a 10pm curfew, YorkshireLive reports.

The friends went back to the lodge but at around 12.30am decided to go to the beach for a swim. In a statement, Erin described how the waves 'pulled us all in' and how she had attempted to lift Millie up while screaming for help, but she could see that she had drowned.

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Erin, who was not a strong swimmer, said: "I laid on my back, screaming for help. I was so close to giving up."

She was eventually pulled out of the sea while others continued to search for Millie. Lewis Mallinson, who was also volunteering in Ghana, said they had been in the sea for around 15 minutes and the current was 'very strong' and the waves were big.

In a statement, Lewis said Millie and Erin were 'struggling' and added: "I had no choice but to leave them and call for help. He said Erin was rescued after around 30 minutes. Around four hours later, Millie's body was found, he added. Around 30 villages had joined the rescue efforts.

A post-mortem examination