A MAN fell 18 floors to his death in a Mexico hotel after he had been drinking, an inquest heard yesterday.

North Yorkshire East Coroner Michael Oakley recorded a verdict of accidental death on Alan James Pearson, 22, of Whitby Road, Pickering.

He said: "It was clearly not deliberate. It was a tragic accident."

He said that high spirits and drink had probably contributed to Mr Pearson's death fall.

"He may have been under the impression that it was not as far down to the ground because of the configuration of the hotel," said Mr Oakley.

His girlfriend, Bethan Corrigan, a student, said they had been drinking on the last night of their holiday at the Blue Bay Hotel, in Puerto Vallarta, when they had gone up three floors to a friend's apartment.

She told the inquest that an argument had started when they were asked to leave.

She said: "Alan said, 'Do you want me to jump'. I told him not to be stupid."

She said he had been on the ledge, dangling his legs over.

"One minute he was there, the next he had gone," said Ms Corrigan.

"He was drunk and acting stupid. There was no indication he was doing it deliberately."

Mr Pearson was a health and fitness student at Greenwich University. Although he had had "small problems", for which he had received counselling, he had no psychiatric problems, the coroner heard.