POLICE investigated a "confession" from a man who said he pushed another man in to the Worcester canal where he drowned, an inquest has heard.

But Ashley Barnes, who later denied pushing Lewis Mullan in to the water at Diglis Basin, was called "an attention-seeker" who has made "numerous stupid comments", according to police.

The inquest in to the death of Mr Mullan was held yesterday in Stourport, and Worcestershire coroner, Geraint Williams reached an open verdict in to the 23-year-old's death.

The inquest heard how Mr Mullan had been celebrating his birthday in Worcester city centre on Christmas Eve when, at roughly 3am, he decided to get a taxi to his home on Bath Road.

In evidence, Detective Constable Jason Maiden said Mr Mullan agreed for the taxi driver to take him to the Commandery service station in Sidbury, as he didn't have enough money to get all the way home.

"CCTV shows the taxi driver drop Lewis off at the station. From that time we don't know where he went," DC Maiden said.

"The taxi driver said he had seemed intoxicated but in good spirits.

"Lewis' father reported him missing to us on Christmas Day. We tried to locate Lewis, we gained access to his phone records, but eventually the obvious thing to do was to start checking the waterways.

"The Diglis route wasn't Lewis' direct route home, that would have been straight up Bath Road. We can't establish why he went down to Diglis Basin, but it was an alternative route home.

"On December 27 search teams found his body in Diglis Basin."

DC Maiden said police also investigated reports that Mr Mullan, who worked with DHL, had been pushed in to the water.

"Ashley Barnes lives in the Diglis area. We received a call from a lady who said Mr Barnes had admitted to pushing Lewis in to the water that night. We made enquiries in to that. We took a statement from Mr Barnes' mother, who said yes, Mr Barnes did say that that was what he had done, and that he had pushed Lewis following an argument. On the night in question, his mother said she didn't believe he could have left the house. He was upstairs all night and that there was only one set of keys to the house and that they were in the same place the following day. Mr Barnes was interviewed by police and he denied pushing Mr Mullan. There are still inquiries ongoing. There was no evidence of third party involvement in Lewis' death. There was no sign of injury on him."

Detective Sergeant Peter Sherwood said: "We are satisfied there is nothing untoward about his death. I was present when Lewis was removed from the water. His trousers were partially undone, suggesting he was probably there to relieve himself on his way home. Everyone we've spoken to says Mr Barnes is an attention-seeker, he has made numerous stupid comments."

Mr Williams said pathology results found a reading of 138milligrammes of alcohol in Mr Mullan's blood as well as traces of cannabis, and recorded a cause of death as drowning, contributed by alcohol and cannabis use.

He said: "In terms of my conclusion, I have to consider a number of possibilities. There is no evidence of unlawful killing. Lewis may have been urinating in to the canal, he may have slipped, intoxicated, or gotten too close to the edge. We don't know how he came in to the canal. Therefore I must reach an open conclusion."

Addressing Mr Mullan's family, Mr Williams said: "I'm sorry if I can't give you the answers you want."

After the hearing, a West Mercia Police spokesperson said: "West Mercia Police investigated a number of lines of inquiry into the death of Lewis Mullan and are satisfied there has been a full and thorough investigation and that there were no suspicious circumstances. There is one line of enquiry of a minor nature, which is still outstanding, about which we are unable to comment further.

"We acknowledge the findings of the coroner."