Drunken student who fell asleep in wheely bin was crushed to death by dustcart

A drunken student was crushed to death in a dustcart less than 24 hours after arriving in the UK, an inquest has heard.

Canadian graduate Garrett Elsey had drunk more than seven pints of beer and had four shots of Jagermeister to celebrate his first night in Bristol.

But after being asked to leave a nightclub and separated from a friend, the 22-year-old found himself lost with no mobile phone.

He decided against walking through an unfamiliar city back to his student digs - and instead sought refuge in a wheely bin.

Unbeknown to the rugby fan, a weekly collection would be taking place in a few hours' time.

The giant container he was in was then hoisted and tipped into the back of the truck.

Three binmen who had been on duty that morning told a coroner the process was "automatic" and none of them had heard Mr Elsey cry for help above the loud noise of the truck's hydraulic machinery.

It was not until the vehicle was emptied at a landfill site that the horrific discovery of a dead body was made.

Mr Elsey's inquest heard that his official cause of death was given as "traumatic asphyxia".

Pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffrey said a post-mortem examination found high levels of alcohol in the student's bloodstream and that he also showed early signs of hypothermia.

"The levels were 144 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of blood," she said.

"As a reference point, the legal driving limit is 80.

"A person who had drunk this amount of alcohol would be showing obvious signs of drunkenness - staggering and some slurring of their words.

"It's possible that the combination of alcohol and his body warmth led to an increased risk of hypothermia.

"People suffering with hypothermia can often become very confused and make strange decisions... they may seek refuge in confined spaces."