A YOUNG man was found dead at the bottom of a cliff.

He has been identified as Hove resident Benedict Findlay.

Police were called on the morning of October 19 to the esplanade beneath Telscombe cliffs after receiving reports that a body had been found.

They found a young man with “injuries conistent with a fall”, assistant coroner Catharine Palmer heard at the opening of an inquest into his death.

He was pronounced dead at 10.20am and was formally identified as Benedict Findlay of Sackville Road in Hove using his driver’s licence.

Police searched the top of the cliff and were satisfied that there was no third party involvement in his death and there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding it.

Mrs Palmer gave a provisional cause of death as “multiple injuries following a fall from height”.

She asked to hear evidence from several interested parties including from his family, GP and mental health services in the area, as well as reports from emergency services which attended the scene and the people who found his body.

These will be presented at a full inquest into his death which is planned to take place on the morning of March 3, 2020.

This was one of two bodies to be found along the stretch of cliffs in a three day period.

On October 22, 23-year-old Brighton resident Thomas Hollands was found at the bottom of the cliffs in Marine Drive, Rottingdean - three miles down the coast from Telscombe.

Attempts to resuscitate him lasted about an hour but he was pronounced dead at 3.19pm.