THE girlfriend of teenager Jenkins Anderson, who was found drowned in the Kennet and Avon Canal in Devizes, believes his death was an accident.

Wiltshire coroner David Masters recorded an open verdict at an inquest, saying there was much that remained unexplained surrounding Mr Anderson's death.

He said he was puzzled about how Mr Anderson's body was found further down the canal, near Prison Bridge, when the last sighting of him by his friends was near Town Bridge.

Mr Anderson, a non-swimmer, died in January after a night out drinking with friends in Devizes to celebrate his 18th birthday.

Mr Anderson's girlfriend, Jemma Hawkins, said she was still struggling to come to terms with his death but believed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding it.

Miss Hawkins, 20, said: "I think his death is just a tragic, tragic accident. How it happened none of us will ever know but I don't think there was anything suspicious about it."

Miss Hawkins met Mr Anderson, who was training to be a chef, four years ago in a nightclub and they had been living together for ten months in Cornfield Road, Devizes.

Mr Anderson, originally from Liberia, moved to the Devizes area with his family when he was a boy.