The death of a teenager from Wye who was hit by a train in Paris has been ruled as a "tragic accident."

Luke McCarthy, 19, had been studying in the French capital and had been at a party with other students on the night of his death.

An inquest at Canterbury Magistrates Court heard how the former Norton Knatchbull pupil had been drinking heavily on Thursday, November 26, 2015.

Popular Luke had gone to La Motte Picquet Grenelle, the underground station, to get a tube home but fatally fell into the path of an oncoming tube.

He was given first aid at the scene and rushed to hospital but sadly died of head and chest injuries at 4.40am the following morning.

Police initially thought the victim was another student - Thomas Mansfield - because the coat he was wearing had his name on it.

But Mr Mansfield, his friend who had also been at the party, gave a statement to police saying he had lent Luke his coat when he left because he could not find his own.

Mr Mansfield said Luke had been drinking earlier in the day and it was "not the first time he had drunk too much".

In a statement to the French police, the train driver said he saw Luke "jump in front of the train" but Chris Morris, assistant coroner for North East Kent, said he could not be satisfied Luke had tried to take his own life.

Reading his conclusion yesterday, Mr Morris said: "Luke was well and happy. He kept in contact with his family through Skype and I get the impression of a happy young man who enjoyed the social aspect of university to the full.

"He had been to a party with students where he had a good time and where he had drunk a significant amount of alcohol, not because of unhappiness but because he enjoyed a drink.

"It must have come as a devastating blow and a complete shock to his family and friends when he suffered a fatal injury which led to his death.

"It appears that the French police initially viewed this as Luke attempting to take his own life but suicide can never be presumed.

"The driver of the train did not get a good look at what happened, only that he saw a man standing away from the other passengers waiting on the platform.

"On the balance of probabilities and taking into account Luke’s state of mind, his plans for the future and the amount of alcohol he had drunk I consider it more likely than not that Luke simply stumbled and fell on to the path of the train."

Luke, who attended Highworth School for his A-levels, had been studying at the University of London Institute since 2014 and lived with three other friends in Paris.

Paying tribute at the time, Tim Gore, the chief executive officer of the university, said staff and students were "greatly saddened" by the news of his death.

Mr Gore said: "Luke McCarthy, a student with us at the University of London Institute in Paris, will be sorely missed by all his fellow students and the staff here at the institute. We are all greatly saddened by this loss."