An "instinctive reaction" cost a Rainham youngster his life on a school trip to Austria.

Twelve-year-old Hayden Waller fell from a cliff face as he tried to save a friend who had slipped, an inquest heard today.

The former pupil of the Howard School, Rainham, was taking part in a ski trip in the resort of Mallnitz in February when he and three other pupils left their hotel during a period of free time.

They attempted to make their way to a nearby viewing platform, but as they climbed the terrain became steeper.

One of the boys slipped and as he fell Hayden reached out to steady him but lost his footing. He fell nearly 30 feet, landing on a felled tree.

He suffered a broken neck and was pronounced dead at the scene.

An inquest at County Hall, Maidstone, heard how Hayden Waller and three friends had spent the day skiing before they were given two hours of free time. After playing in the snow the boys decided to climb to the viewing platform where the incident occurred.

The boys were not being directly supervised at the time. A report from the Health and Safety Executive found the school was in no way to blame.

Summing up, Roger Sykes, coroner for Mid-Kent and Medway, said: "I believe that the more likely explanation for Hayden's loss of balance was that he did attempt to break the fall of the boy in the lead and that clearly was an instinctive reaction."

He recorded a verdict of misadventure.

Hayden's parents Gary and Hayley Waller, of Harty Avenue, Wigmore, said the inquest result was as they expected.

A statement from the family reads: "Hayden was a charming, likeable, caring and confident young man who was loved by everyone who knew him and he will be greatly missed. The inquest verdict was as they had expected. They accept that Hayden's death was an accident."

Full story in the print edition of Friday's Medway Messenger