A beach-goer drowned in a freak accident when he fell asleep on the shore - and was swamped by a high tides.

Jonathan Ralphs, 52, was found naked face-down on rocks by a group of boys playing on the beach.

An inquest heard he could have fallen asleep on the beach near Penarth Pier during extremely high tides in November last year.

Pathologist Dr Ryk James said Mr Ralphs medical cause of death was unascertained.

Assistant coroner Rachel Knight heard there were extremely high tides in South Wales when Mr Ralphs was found on November 10 last year.

The Pontypridd inquest heard Mr Ralphs had previously been homeless and had slept on the beach from time to time.

Miss Knight gave a conclusion of accidental drowning.

She said: "Mr Ralphs was a quiet man who had his issues but I'm sure he'll be missed by many people.

"He associated Penarth with an ex-girlfriend and had gone there to sleep in the past when he was homeless.

"Particularly the information about the tide – I find it's more likely than not that the cause of death is drowning."

The court also heard Mr Ralphs "drank a lot of alcohol" and used substances like cannabis and amphetamine.