A 24-YEAR-OLD man drowned 250 metres offshore after leaving his personal items on the beach, an inquest heard.

The body of Louis Luc Joselito Lamaitre was found in the water after a huge emergency operation on April 13.

At an inquest into his death at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court yesterday afternoon, senior Essex Coroner Caroline Beasley- Murray said: “At 7.05pm the police were alerted to reports of discarded clothes, a passport, keys and wallet found on the beach.

“It was high tide when it happened. At 11.40, at low tide, the coastguard found the body 250 metres from the beachfront.”

The body, found near the Thames Estuary Yacht Club, was taken to the RNLI boathouse before being passed onto police.

Mr Lamaitre, who was born in Port Louis, Mauritius, was living in Westcliff at the time of his death and was identified by police using the passport found on the beach.

The court heard how Mr Lamaitre had gone missing one year earlier in France, but was found in a youth hostel.

A post-mortem carried out returned the cause of death as drowning and a toxicology test was carried out.

Mrs Beasley added: “No more information as to how he ended up in the water has come to light.

“There doesn’t seem to be any eye witnesses in the last few hours.

“In light of the real lack of evidence I am drawing an open conclusion.

“Please I would like to express my sympathy to his family.”