Nightmare first date saw woman die after falling in River Thames

Police probing the death of a 24-year-old woman who died after a speedboat capsized while she was on a first date have charged a man with manslaughter by gross negligence.

Charlotte Brown was pulled from the River Thames in central London on the night of 8 December, 2015, but later died in hospital.

The incident near Wandsworth Bridge also saw her date, Jack Shepherd, pulled from the water. He survived.

Police and the Marine Support Unit attended the scene, alongside the National Police Air Service, the Coastguard, London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service.

The Met Police initially treated the death as non-suspicious but on Wednesday (20 September) detectives said they had charged Shepherd, from Abergavenny, Wales, with manslaughter by gross negligence.

The 30-year-old is due to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on 18 October.

Brown, originally from Welling, south-east London, was described by her family as a "fun-loving" woman.

She was on a first date at the time of her death, having had a meal in The Shard skyscraper before going on a speedboat cruise on the Thames. The business development consultant had met her date online.

Her mother Roz Wickens, 50, a former London Ambulance Service emergency medical technician, was at home in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, when police arrived to break the news to her.

Paying tribute to her daughter's "cheeky smile, loving heart, and vibrant personality", she said at the time: "I am so totally devastated I can't put it into words, but when people see what a beautiful woman she is, they will know how everyone loved her, she touched so many hearts.

"This is the worst thing I have ever had to do in my life, it is so terrible."

Brown's father, Graham, 52, a civil servant, was said at the time to be "inconsolable".