A hospital has apologised to a pair of grieving parents after staff handed them a pair of trainers with part of their dead son's foot still in them.

Norman Wodhams and ex-wife Mary Collier were horrified to find the grisly remains after collecting their son's belongings from Worthing Hospital.

Matthew Wodhams, 28, fell to his death from the top floor of the Teville Gate car park in Worthing in August.

An inquest heard today how he spent the last weeks of his life homeless, hearing voices, but unable to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Doctors believed he was not schizophrenic but instead suffered from an emotionally unstable personality. He died at Worthing Hospital on September 8, ten days after he fell.

Norman Wodhams told The Argus yesterday that when he and his ex-wife, of Harvey Road, Worthing, picked up their son's remains they found one of his bones lodged inside the shoe.

Mr Wodhams, a retired postman from Milton Keynes, said "It was a bit of a shock. It shouldn't have happened but it did. We don't blame the nurses."

Witnesses told the inquest at Worthing town hall how they saw Mr Wodhams climbing over railings at the top of the car park on August 29 at about 5pm.

He had a history of self harm and Mrs Collier said their son had previously considered suicide.

She said: "He was tormented by voices in his head. Whatever he did he couldn't get rid of them.

"He was paranoid, he thought he was being followed everywhere. He told me once he went to a high rise car park, right to the top, to jump off, and then changed his mind."

Like doctors, social workers and friends she spoke of her struggle to help her son.

A heavy drinker, he had been sectioned before but consultant Ali Farsi told the inquest Mr Wodhams had recently been diagnosed with an impulsive personality disorder rather than schizophrenia so he was not sectioned.

After being thrown out of several homes and even a campsite, he was left homeless.

John Reynolds, the owner of the CentrePoint car sale business close to Teville Gate, said Mr Wodhams seemed to be having a conversation as he slipped from the railings of the nine-storey car park.

Mr Reynolds, who was phoning police at the time, said: "I couldn't quite work out what he was saying. I heard him shout, "I love you" and then he just fell."

West Sussex assistant deputy coroner Martin Milward refused to record a verdict of suicide yesterday but said Mr Wodhams' death was "the result of the injuries sustained when he fell".

After Mr Wodhams' death hospital staff handed back to his parents a bag of his belongings they had been storing.

His family opened the bag once they had returned home and were horrified to discover a substantial piece of Mr Wodhams' heel sticking through the shoe, along with other fragments of bone and flesh.

Staff at Worthing Hospital said they had not checked inside the bag because it was sealed in a police evidence bag. They believed they might have disturbed the investigation if they did.

Speaking after the inquest Norman Wodhams said: "It was just a tragedy. When I saw him in hospital I knew it was over. They gave his clothes to Mary afterwards and I said burn them, get rid of them and she said she wanted to know his shoe size and a piece of bloody bone was in them.

"It did upset us all but they had made a mistake. Someone didn't check them.

"It was unfortunate but it was just one of those things."

Beverley Thorp, the associate director of nursing at Worthing Hospital, said: "The trust would like to say that it is clear that our usual procedures were not followed on this sad occasion.

"We offer our sincere apologies to Matthew's family for any distress caused.

"We have undertaken a full review of all our systems and we are confident that this would not happen again in the future.

"Our condolences go out to Matthew's family."