An inquest into the death of Essex County Newspapers journalist Gavin Nightingale has found he died after a fall on Ben Nevis.

The 38-year-old, who was an experienced hill walker, went missing on February 11 after he had set out to walk up the north face of Ben Nevis.

He failed to return to his accommodation, sparking an extensive search of the mountain and surrounding area.

The search was hampered due to severe weather conditions, and his body was not found until April 30 in a dry stream.

The inquest at Colchester Town Hall heard that a post-mortem found the journalist died from multiple injuries caused by a mountain fall.

The coroner, Caroline Beasley-Murray, said: "Gavin Nightingale died as a result of an accident."

Gavin managed the central publishing unit for Essex County Newspapers, where he was in charge of sub-editing the group's weekly papers across north and mid Essex.