The body of a man who died in a road crash in Spain has been exhumed from a north Essex cemetery.

Roger Nicholls, 44, of Mucking Ford Road, West Tilbury, was killed in a crash near Alicante in August 1998 and was buried in Feering Cemetery, near where his widow and children lived.

His body was exhumed on December 3 after his parents asked for further investigation to be carried out into his death.

Discussions were held between Essex Coroner Malcolm Weir and Essex Police and the coroner decided the body should be exhumed. A post mortem examination in Spain gave the cause of death as a brain trauma and no inquest was held.

Following the exhumation of the body, a further post mortem examination was carried out by a Home Office pathologist which showed the cause of death to be from multiple injuries, consistent with a road crash.

A statement from Essex Police said this was consistent with the Spanish post mortem and no futher police action was anticipated.

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