Boy's river death inquest halted

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An inquest on a 17-year-old boy who was found in a Warwickshire river has been halted after an error by police.

Witness statements were not disclosed to coroner Michael Coker who then adjourned the hearing on Jack Macleod's death until 23 April.

The Leamington Spa inquest heard police would be apologising to family members.

Jack, from Leamington Spa, disappeared during the early hours of 4 December, 2005. His body was found in a nearby river on 3 January, 2006.

Barrister Barney Branston, representing Warwickshire Police, said the witness statements and a 23-page police interview transcript had "fallen through the cracks" and not been submitted to the coroner.

We will investigate how this mistake came about and we will be explaining what went wrong Warwickshire Police

Mr Coker said he was disappointed at the situation and needed time to consider them.

Jack's father, Kevin Fisher, said he was "gobsmacked" at the events.

In a statement he said: "As a family we have been on tenterhooks for the last year. We had hoped for some closure this week.

"This is a tremendous disappointment, but we must be sure the inquest is done right.

"If anything, this is a lesson on how it should not be done."

'Immediate apology'

Jane Sarginson, a barrister acting for Jack's mother and stepfather, Sheena and Ewan Macleod, said the couple were appalled by the sudden emergence of new documents.

A spokeswoman for Warwickshire Police said the force would offer an immediate apology to the family.

"We will investigate how this mistake came about and we will be explaining what went wrong," a spokesman said.

Jack had been on a night out in Leamington and was seen walking with friends on the Adelaide Road bridge, over the River Leam.

Minutes later he was spotted lying on the footpath but police do not know how he came to be in the water.

A post-mortem examination was inconclusive and no-one has been charged over his death.

A separate inquiry into the police's investigation is being handled by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.