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He was a keen actor, belonged to the National Youth Theatre and was studying for his A-levels. But, a month after being reported missing, Joshua Beasley was found dead, floating in the Thames in January 2008.

He'd been out with friends on Christmas Eve when he was last spotted talking to a stranger at around 6pm close to the river in Deptford.

Earlier that afternoon he'd been drinking in the Wetherspoon's pub in Creek Road, before attempting to join friends who were ice skating at the Old Royal Naval College.

Pathologist Dr Peter Jerreat gave the cause of death as 'drowning by immersion in water' with Joshua almost four times the legal drink-drive limit before he died.

Detective Inspector Cliff Stanley from the Metropolitan Police said Joshua's body still had money and an MP3 player on his person, making it unlikely he was mugged or attacked.

No conclusions

Gail Elliman, assistant deputy coroner for Southwark, said: "Despite a huge amount of information in relation to what happened before Josh died there is little in the way of answers to the questions as to how, when and where he did die."

Recording an open verdict on Wednesday she added: "It is not an answer but simply a reflection of the fact that I cannot suppose what the cause of Joshua's death was. It is not for me to speculate, it is for me to make conclusions on the evidence."

"We miss him"

Josh's uncle Michael Harrison made a statement after the Coroner's verdict on behalf of the family. He said: "Josh was a beautiful boy, caring, intelligent and witty. We have been devastated by his death. We miss him and love him very much."

He continued: "We are satisfied that the coroner has delivered an open verdict and we still do not know what happened to Joshua on that day."

Joshua's father Paul Beasley added: "We are still appealing for witnesses to help us understand what happened to our son."