MYSTERY surrounds the death of a bar manager from Taunton whose body was found on one of the Scilly Isles.

Josh Clayton, 23, had no injuries and had not drowned, while there was no evidence he had been murdered, an inquest has heard.

Josh disappeared following a party on the island of Tresco on September 13, 2015. His body was found ten days later on rocks on the uninhabited island of Tean.

A fresh inquiry was launched after an inquest in January 2017 was halted after Leroy Thomas gave new information about the party.

Det Chief Supt Steve Parker said Mr Thomas was drunk at the party and was "a nuisance" who gave conflicting accounts about the evening.

The officer said Mr Thomas told police he had seen people "trying to calm Josh down" in the party before he was spotted on a golf buggy outside.

Mr Parker added: "Some time later he (Mr Thomas) was outside and saw Josh arguing with two East European men over a push bike."

He claimed Josh threw down the bike and shouted, "I've had enough. I want to kill myself", before running off.

When Josh went missing, a massive search was launched involving police, coastguards and volunteers.

Some of his possessions were found on a track and there was a damaged bike nearby.

After his body was found, post mortem tests showed he was 2.5 times the drink drive limit.

A police search expert said Josh may have cycled away and fallen off the bike in the dark.

He could have injured himself on concealed rocks and become entangled in vegetation and could have become disorientated.

The inquest heard the cause of death had been unascertained and Josh had "no apparent injuries" and there was "no apparent evidence of drowning".

Partygoers gave statements to police and Mr Parker said:"Josh was desperate to get home because he had to work early the next morning."

Josh had told a friend he was not enjoying the party, adding: "I just want to get out of here."

Some witnesses said Josh was drunk, others said he was his normal, happy self and was "tactile, kissing and hugging".

Josh's family told Mr Parker the party involved drug taking, heavy drinking, sexual harassment, assaults and damage to vehicles.

Mr Parker said: "Clearly it was unacceptable behaviour. There were a lot of incidents unusually that night. It was not an average Saturday night on Tresco."

The family said the initial police inquiry made blunders and wrong assumptions, while the post mortem was delayed.

Mr Parker said: "It was unacceptable and a mistake, one for which I apologise in relation to the post mortem."

The family said it was "outrageous" that police assumed Josh was the "most drunk person at the party" and questioned why his clothes, including a blood stained T shirt, were destroyed by police and not forensically examined.

Mr Parker said he had seen no evidence to point to Josh killing himself.

And he said Josh would not have gone swimming fully clothed, wearing a rucksack which was found around his head when his body was recovered.

He added: "No-one was involved in the death of Josh."

The inquest continues.