Pontcysyllte aqueduct fall inquest 'to hear about structure's maintenance'

Pontcysyllte aqueduct carries the Llangollen canal over the Dee Valley

An inquest for a teenager who fell from a 120ft-high (36m) aqueduct will hear about maintenance work to the structure, a coroner has said.

Kristopher McDowell, 18, was found at the bottom of Pontcysyllte aqueduct, Llangollen, Denbighshire, in May 2016.

An inquest was opened one month later, with the provisional cause of death given as chest trauma.

At a hearing in Ruthin earlier, coroner John Gittins confirmed the full two-day jury inquest will be held in March.

He said "given the importance of this site" he has to be "incredibly diligent and cautious" in examining the circumstances of Mr McDowell's death.

Mr Gittins said he plans to call engineers to give evidence about maintenance work and stress tests carried out on railings which line two paths over the structure.

After his death Mr McDowell, of Cefn Mawr, Wrexham county, was described in a tribute as "bright and lively".