Josh Clayton Tresco death: Bloodied T-shirt not examined

Josh Clayton was missing for 10 days before his body was found

A bloody T-Shirt found on the body of a holiday island worker who died after going missing from a party was not forensically examined, an inquest has heard.

Josh Clayton disappeared on Tresco in the Isles of Scilly where he had been working in September 2015.

Plymouth Coroner's Court has heard how the clothes he had been wearing were destroyed without being examined.

His body was recovered from nearby rocks ten days after he went missing.

The post-mortem examination was carried out 15 days after his body was found.

Mr Clayton, 23, from Taunton in Somerset had been living on Tresco while working as a bar manager.

Blood staining

Home Office registered pathologist Dr Russell Delaney said he saw the T-Shirt but did not see any defects in the fabric.

He said blood staining from fluid due to decomposition was "not an unusual finding given the circumstances".

Dr Delaney said he found no evidence of "any significant injury" to Mr Clayton or of drowning, but he would not expect there to be any evidence of the latter due to the amount of time the body had been in water.

He said he concluded Mr Clayton's death was "unascertained".

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In response to a question from Mr Clayton's family, Dr Delaney said he did not believe the time it took for a post-mortem examination to be completed altered the outcome.

Det Ch Supt Steve Parker from Devon and Cornwall Police previously told jurors it was "highly unlikely" there would have been any forensic evidence on Mr Clayton's clothes but added: "I can't say categorically."

He said he understood the decision for the clothing to be destroyed was made by Det Insp Debbie Jago who led the initial investigation into Mr Clayton's disappearance and death.

The inquest continues.