Death of a man who died in caravan fire in April near Maldon Road, Bradwell-on-Sea, ruled as "tragic accident"

Liam Andrews, 22, died when the caravan he was staying in off Maldon Road went up in smoke overnight on April 23.

A police investigation into the deaths of Mr Andrews and his dog found no suspicious circumstances.

At the inquest in Chelmsford on Monday, coroner Caroline Beas- ley-Murray said: “On Thursday, April 21, Martin Andrews and his son Liam Andrews arrived at the site with their pet dog in Bradwell-on-Sea.

“Due to troubles with electricity, they were using candles for lighting.

“On Saturday April 23, Martin left the site for a work appointment. He returned on Sunday to find that the caravan had burnt down and his son had sadly died.”

A post-mortem by pathologist Benjamin Smith ruled Mr Andrews had died as a result of inhalation of fumes of combustion.

Mrs Beasley-Murray said: “The investigation deemed the fire was started by either an electrical fault or candlelight catching light via a gas leak. While they could not identify a specific cause, they deemed it a most probable accidental cause.

“Therefore, I deem that Liam An- drews died as a result of an accident.”

She added: “This was a truly tragic accident and Liam’s family have my dearest sympathies.”

Liam’s father, Martin Andrews, paid tribute to his “wonderful” son shortly after his death. He said at the time: “Liam was a wonderful young man with a heart of gold.

“He would always go out of his way to help his more elderly neighbours, getting them shopping, helping with heavy lifting and ensuring they had all the help they needed.

“He was genuine, down to earth and just a lovely young man.”