A young man from Boxted who was preparing to come home from his “world adventure” died in Australia as the result of an accident, an inquest heard.

Neill Willemsen was 26 when he died on April 24 last year in Coogee, New South Wales.

On Friday, presiding coroner Mrs Catherine Wood read a statement written by Mr Willemsen's parents before the court.

They described him as “a dear little boy with a twinkle in his eye that never left him”.

Mr Willemsen, they said, was a much-loved son, brother and grandson, being the first grandchild for both sets of grandparents.

He was the eldest of three children, and had spent many happy childhood days playing in in the garden with his two sisters.

Mr Willemsen had spent the past few months travelling on his “world adventure”.

Back home in Suffolk, Mr Willemsen, a former Ipswich School student, worked full-time on his parents’ farm, and was a key member of the team, driving the combine and planting crops. He was looking forward to coming home, and intended to take over the running of the farm upon his return.

“He lost the opportunity to life the wonderful life he had ahead of him because of this tragic accident,” Mr Willemsen's parents wrote.

The day before his death, Mr Willemsen had met with friends at the Coogee Bay Hotel, and they had spent the evening together.

At the end of the night, Mr Willemsen was walking back to his hotel alone.

Reading evidence submitted by police officers in Australia, Mrs Wood told the court that Neill is believed to have tripped and fallen due to a broken flipflop, hitting the back of his head.

The area where Mr Willemsen fell was poorly lit, and he was not discovered until morning. Mrs Wood said that changes have been made to improve this since his death.

A post-mortem found that Mr Willemsen died as the result of a head injury.