A man smiled and waved at a camera on a hot air balloon flight before he climbed out, falling 1,000 feet to his death, an inquest was told.

Jesus Lato Garzon, 33, fell from the basket during a Virgin Balloon Flights journey in September.

Detective Sergeant Elaine Keating, of Sussex Police , told the inquest that Jesus turned and waved at the pilot's camera before turning around and lifting his legs to climb out of the balloon. He was later found on farmland adjacent to the A272.

When asked by Assistant Coroner S Morgan if any of the passengers could have stopped Mr Garzon from climbing out of the basket, DS Keating replied: "No. [It was] very quick."

The coroner recorded a verdict of suicide and called the death "utterly tragic".

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