Josh Clayton: Tresco death was accident, inquest concludes

Josh Clayton went missing following a party on the island of Tresco

The mother of a bar worker who vanished from a party on an island has vowed to keep investigating how he died.

Josh Clayton's body was found on rocks near Tresco, Isles of Scilly, 10 days after he went missing in 2015.

Investigations have failed to find what happened but an inquest jury returned a conclusion of accidental death.

Jurors at at Plymouth Coroner's Court said Mr Clayton, 23, "may have had a fall" after leaving the party and "may have suffered a minor head injury".

Their conclusion said: "We believe Josh made his way onto the beach … as a result Josh suffered either dry drowning, traditional drowning or possibly being unable to exit the water."

Speaking afterwards, his mother Tracey Clayton said: "All we have is pure speculation."

Mr Clayton's abandoned bike was found during the search in September 2015

Mr Clayton had been living and working on Tresco when he went missing on 13 September 2015.

Jurors at the three-day inquest had heard how a post-mortem examination had been unable to find a cause of death or information about how Mr Clayton, from Taunton in Somerset, ended up in the sea.

A pathologist concluded Mr Clayton's medical cause of death was unascertained but the jury said the cause of death was drowning.

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They were told an initial inquest in January 2017 was halted after new claims emerged of Mr Clayton, from Taunton, being involved in a row at the party.

'Missed opportunities'

Coroner Ian Arrow said police had reinvestigated but were unable to corroborate the claims, nor had they found any evidence of third party involvement in Mr Clayton's death.

Mrs Clayton said the first police investigation into her son's death missed opportunities to secure evidence, meaning the inquest result was "meaningless and of no comfort".

"The family intend to continue with the investigation in order to reduce the number of unanswered questions," she said.

"We concede that without any meaningful evidence being secured at the time this is likely to be a struggle."

Det Ch Supt Steve Parker from Devon and Cornwall Police, said afterwards: "I am satisfied that there has been a comprehensive investigation into this matter. We kept an open mind throughout the investigation.

"There was no evidence of any suspicious activity or indeed any evidence of third party involvement in his death, and therefore no suspects were identified."