A MAN had been drinking heavily before he drove his car off a cliff at Mwnt, plunging 100ft into the sea, an inquest heard.

Gary Christopher Chilton, 42, from Manchester, was staying on holiday at Ty Gwyn Caravan Park, Mwnt, with his friends on June 17, 2016.

An inquest was held at Aberystwyth Justice Centre on Wednesday, October 26, which the parents and wife of Mr Chilton attended.

The group of friends arrived at the campsite on June 17 and immediately started drinking, the inquest heard.

Witnesses at the inquest described the moment that Mr Chilton chose to get in his car to retrieve his Yorkshire terrier, Maggie, when it slipped off its lead.

Witness Andrew Johnson told the court: “He drove up to the top of the field and hand-brake turned, hitting the hedge. The next thing I remember is seeing the car go past us and over the edge of the cliff.”

The inquest heard Mr Chilton had 320mg/100ml of alcohol in his blood, close to the lethal limit.

A post-mortem report stated Mr Chilton had sustained multiple injuries as a result of the plummeting car.

Sgt Matthew Thomas attended the scene on June 17, the court heard.

He described the scene to the inquest: “I could see a vehicle upside down at the bottom of the cliff about 100-150 feet down. I decided to scale the cliffs to get to the car.”

The court heard that Sgt Thomas made it to the bottom of the cliffs, where he could see a man in the car, but due to the rising tide, he could not set free the lifeless body.

The RNLI freed Mr Chilton’s body, which was brought back to Poppit Sands lifeboat station, where “life extinct” was pronounced by paramedics at 7.34pm.

Coroner Peter Brunton gave a conclusion of death by misadventure.

He said to the family: “You have my most profound sympathies. He was a young man and we are left with the mystery as to what was exactly passing through his mind. I am sorry the inquest has not done more to find out these thoughts.”