THE vice principal of an East Lancashire college has blasted the lack of police communication and the "unnecessary uncertainty" his family endured before they were told their 21-year-old son had drowned.

Duncan Bloy and his wife Linda are planning to lodge an official complaint about the police delay in identifying their son Nicholas's body and the lack of liaison between the three forces involved - Gloucestershire, Avon and Somerset, and South Wales.

Mr Bloy, vice principal of Blackburn College, and his wife spoke out after an inquest into their student son's death recorded an open verdict.

The hearing heard that Nicholas, of Llanbleithian, Cowbridge, South Wales, disappeared from home on August 20 after a champagne breakfast to celebrate his sister, Hannah's, A-level results.

A week later his car was found abandoned at Aust Services on the M4 near Bristol - and on the same day his body was discovered in the River Severn south of Berkeley, Gloucestershire. But, the inquest heard that it was not until two weeks later, on September 10, that the body was formally identified and Nicholas's worried parents were told he had been found.

After yesterday's inquest, the couple said they accepted the open verdict because there was no evidence to prove how their son drowned.

But in a statement they said: "As a family, we are still deeply affected by the tragic loss of our son Nick and it is a tragedy which will remain with us for the rest of our lives.

"There are also aspects of the investigation into his disappearance and the eventual confirmation of his death which have caused us additional stress and torment.

"The lack of communication between police authorities and lack of procedures followed will now be a matter to be brought to the attention of the Police Complaints Authority.

"Nothing will bring back our son. However, we do not want any other family to experience the prolonged period of unnecessary uncertainty that we as a family experienced."

The inquest was told that anonymous claims that he was murdered by drug dealers in Bristol - and evidence that he was abusing drugs including Ecstasy - failed to shed any conclusive light on the death. Evidence was also presented that Nicholas was disillusioned with a placement at St Ivel's in Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, as part of his marketing degree at Birmingham Aston University and that he was also upset at the mutually-agreed ending of his relationship with girlfriend Helen Makepeace.

Deputy Gloucester coroner Alan Crickmore said none of the evidence showed whether Nicholas fell, slipped or was pushed into the river and it was impossible to reach any verdict except an open one.

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