THE family of a Taunton bar worker have vowed to continue their investigation into his death despite an inquest ruling he died accidentally.

Josh Clayton's mother has accused police of several blunders making it impossible to discover how he died on the Isles of Scilly.

He disappeared after a party on Tresco island in September 2015 and his body was found ten days later on the nearby island of Tean.

An inquest concluded Josh, 23, may have fallen after leaving the party and suffered a minor head injury.

His mother, Tracey Clayton, whose family has spent £75,000 trying to find out exactly what happened, said: "The precise circumstances surrounding Joshua's death are still unproven and remain a mystery. All we have is pure speculation.

"Therefore, the family feel the outcome of the inquest is meaningless and of no comfort.

"The family feel quite strongly that the original police investigation missed opportunities to secure potentially vital evidence.

"This evidence might have helped to explain the circumstances surrounding Joshua's death and potentially provided some substance for this inquest.

"As such, with or without the assistance of Devon and Cornwall Police, the family intend to continue with the investigation in order to reduce the number of unanswered questions.

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

Mrs Clayton described her son as "kind and considerate" and said he enjoyed life and had a huge circle of friends and was "happy and excited" about his future at the time of his death.

A post mortem found Josh was 2.5 times the drink drive limit but there were no drugs in his system.

Det Chief Supt Steve Parker told the inquest he did not believe Josh killed himself and "no-one was involved" in his death, but said there was "unacceptable behaviour" at the party.

He added that following a complaint from the Claytons, a misconduct inquiry is underway against unnamed officers.

After the inquest, he said: "I'm satisfied 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.

“This has been a protracted and difficult investigation and we thank Josh’s family, friends, colleagues, residents of the Isles of Scilly and the wider public for their support in allowing us to ensure it was conducted in a thorough manner. My thoughts, and those of the investigation team, go out to Josh’s family on their tragic loss.”

He added: "In cases such as these there are two strands to the police response - the search and rescue phase and the wider investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance.

"There appears to be agreement that the search and rescue response in this matter was conducted professionally and thoroughly. It is appropriate to reiterate our thanks to the volunteers who assisted us in delivering this phase of the investigation.

"In relation to the wider investigative response, Josh’s family have raised their concerns and these have been dealt with by way of a formal complaint against police.

"The investigation into these matters is ongoing and to comment on these matters further at this stage would be inappropriate and unfair to those involved."