A man died after falling into a river while drunk, an inquest has heard.

The body of Paul Goodwin was found in the River Stour near Sandwich following a lengthy police search.

An inquest into his death heard that the body of the handyman, who lived in a moored boat in Sandwich marina, was found on Sunday, April 3.

Police launched an operation to find him after he was first reported missing the week prior, having last been seen on Friday, March 18.

Officers from the East Kent Vulnerability Team were joined by search and rescue teams as well as the police helicopter in the search.

However, there were no more confirmed sightings of Mr Goodwin until a walker made a tragic discovery on the following Sunday.

The inquest opening at County Hall in Maidstone heard that an off-duty police control room operator had been walking by the river Stour near the A256 when they spotted a body floating face down in the river.

A recovery operation was launched, and the body was secured onto the river bank and confirmed to be Mr Goodwin.

A post-mortem gave his cause of death as immersion underwater, with alcohol intoxication and coronary artery disease as contributing factors.

The inquest was opened to allow more evidence to be gathered to be heard at a later date.