A Japanese mature student was swept to his death at a coastal beauty spot while his classmates looked on, an inquest heard.

Ferocious seas made it impossible for onlookers to help Koji Takeuchi, 31, as he struggled in waters off Rocky Valley in Tintagel, Cornwall.

Heavy swells and 8ft waves meant his body was also hidden from helicopter and lifeboat crews who scoured the seas.

Mr Takeuchi was among 15 overseas students from Emerson College, Forest Row, near Crowborough, who had travelled to Cornwall for an eight-day cultural trip last March.

It was not until two months later that a holidaymaker found human bones washed up.

The inquest at Liskeard Magistrates' Court, Cornwall, heard DNA taken from the bones matched a sample taken from Mr Takeuchi's mother.

English teacher Andrew Wolpert said he and colleague Robert MacCall were taking the students on a coastal walk from their hostel in Tintagel.

The students stopped for lunch at Rocky Valley, where Mr Takeuchi, from Handa City, Aitchi, moved on to an outcrop of rock to watch the sea below.

Student Junko Shigedomi said: "I knew from earlier talks with Koji he would be very excited at being so close to the sea. He hadn't seen the sea for about ten years in Japan.

"I saw Koji pointing towards a large wave that was coming into the shore.

"When I saw the size of the wave I was worried about where Koji was. I saw it hit him with force enough to knock him off his feet."

Students shouted for help as they watched their friend trying to cling on to rocks.

But Mr Takeuchi, a seventh Dan karate master, was pulled out to sea.

Coastguard Graham King, who attended the scene, told the inquest: "Nobody would have survived very long on that day in that water.

"It was so turbulent it was just a mass of foam."

Mr Takeuchi's family travelled from Japan and New York to Cornwall on March 27 last year to attend a short memorial service at Rocky Valley.

Dr Emma Carlyon, coroner for Cornwall eastern district, recorded a verdict of accidental death.