Sailor Jamie Mears died in Italy mountain bike fall

Jamie Mears won several UK grand prix sailing titles and was a keen skier

An international champion sailor died after a mountain biking accident in Italy, an inquest has heard.

Jamie Mears was taking part in a package cycling tour in the province of Imperia on 6 May when he came off his bike and fell roughly 10 metres (33ft) into a ravine.

The 46-year-old, from Essex, died from multiple injuries.

Senior coroner Lincoln Brookes, sitting at Chelmsford Coroners' Court, concluded his death was an accident.

"This was a man very much loved and I'm sure there would be many more who would say the same," he said.

"I can only describe this as a very tragic accident."

The ambulance service arrived in about 20 minutes, close to Molini di Triora

Stewart Mears said he and his brother were not aware of the steep drop on their trail

The inquest heard that on the group's second day, cycling out of Molini di Triora, they took a different route than planned because of a lorry blocking their path.

No-one saw the moment he came off, but he was believed to have skidded off a wet stone and fallen through shrubbery, which separated the track and the ravine.

His brother, Stewart Mears, was in the group, and he told the court that Mr Mears wore a full-face crash helmet as well as elbow and knee pads.

"It was a pretty innocuous pass and the gradient was pretty shallow. The sort of riding we do isn't extreme," said the brother.

"But we weren't aware of the steep drop on this trail."

The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club said Jamie Mears and his brother Stewart were "extremely successful"

Mr Mears was conscious after falling into the ravine and the ambulance service arrived in about 20 minutes, the court heard.

He suffered a cardiac arrest and was resuscitated, but could not be revived after a second cardiac arrest while being transported to hospital by air ambulance.

The post-mortem examination concluded he died from multiple injuries, due to a fall from height.

'Extremely successful'

Mr Mears grew up in Stansted Mountfitchet before moving to Saffron Walden, and later, to the village of Widdington, where he lived with his wife, Gemma, and their three sons.

He worked for his parents' business Pica Floorings from the age of 18, before becoming co-director with his brother Stewart.

The coroner heard he was a keen skier and won "numerous" sailing titles along with his brother.

An obituary from Sail World reported that he won four UK grand prix titles with Team Pica in the 18 footers class and also European titles, including the coveted Mark Foy Trophy regatta.

Another obituary from The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Burnham-on-Crouch, where he trained, said: "To put it simply, they were extremely successful."