A triathlete who died while taking part in his first race suffered from epilepsy, it's been revealed.

The inquest into Paul Gallihawk's death was opened and adjourned at Archbishop's Palace, Maidstone this morning, when it was revealed his epilepsy played a part in his death at the weekend.

Coroner's officer Gary Waple told the hearing a postmortem examination had given the cause of death as immersion, with epilepsy being a contributing factor.

Mr Waple said the 34-year-old had not had an epileptic fit for 10 years but had recently seen a doctor after suffering from dizzy spells and had been referred to King's College Hospital in London - the establishment he was raising money for.

Mr Gallihawk, who was born in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, had just started the Ocean Lake Triathlon at Leybourne Lakes in Larkfield on Saturday morning when he disappeared.

He entered the lake for the first leg of the triathlon, a 750m swim, but failed to emerge from the water.

Emergency crews were alerted and police officers, fire crews and about 30 volunteers from Kent Search and Rescue (KSAR) embarked on a three-day search.

Mr Gallihawk's body was discovered 80m from the shoreline just after 9.30am on Bank Holiday Monday.

Mid Kent and Medway coroner Patricia Harding, opening and adjourning the inquest, did not set a date for the full hearing as she said other agencies would be carrying out their own investigations into Mr Gallihawk's death and she did not know when those would be concluded.

Instead she scheduled a pre-inquest review for Tuesday, December 22.

After his death, donations poured into a JustGiving page Mr Gallihawk set up to raise funds for King's College Hospital, London, which looked after his dad Malcolm last year.

This morning more than £17,000 had been raised by 1,243 generous people, smashing Mr Gallihawk's £300 target.

Floral tributes have been left by the lake in Mr Gallihawk's memory and friends, family and former colleagues have paid tribute to him.

Dad Malcolm, mum Linda and brother Nick said: "Words cannot express how we feel and what Paul meant not only to us but to all of his family and friends."

Girlfriend Hayley Wright added: "He was the most amazing and thoughtful partner. He was incredible in every way and he always put others before himself. I loved him to bits and always will."

Epileptic seizures are caused when there is a sudden burst of intense electrical activity in the brain, which temporarily disrupts the way it works, according to the British Epilepsy Association.

More than 600,000 people in the UK have epilepsy but it is not always a life-long condition.