GARAGE worker Adrian Foster plunged to his death from a seventh-floor apartment after trying to climb from one hotel balcony to another, according to Spanish police.

They said Adrian was trying to get back into his apartment after being locked out and unable to make his flatmate hear his knocks on the door.

Adrian, who worked in Nelson but lived in Rawtenstall with his family, died the day after arriving in Benidorm for a two-week summer holiday.

He went abroad with a close friend and his friend's parents. They have returned home to East Lancashire and are said to be devastated by Adrian's death.

Police investigating the accident said the group were staying at the Rio Park, a one-star hotel catering for British holidaymakers. The 14-storey hotel holds around 1,000 guests.

The local chief of police said Adrian left his room early Sunday evening but returned because he had forgotten something.

His friend was in the shower and did not hear him knocking so he went to the flat next door where the rest of the group were staying and asked if he could climb from their balcony to his own. As he tried to climb on to his balcony he lost his grip and fell more than 100 feet to the concrete floor below.

A Spanish magistrate has opened an investigation and a number of witnesses have been interviewed but police said Adrian's death had been a tragic accident. Police do not believe drink played any part in his death.

East Lancashire coroner David Smith has been informed about the accident but it could be several weeks before the Spanish authorities provide him with the paperwork needed for an inquest to go ahead.

Adrian lived with his stepfather, Richard, and mother, Carole, in Rushbed Drive. He had a 25-year-old brother, Andrew, and two sisters Emma, 13, and Alison, 26.

His stepfather declined to comment further about the accident. "All I want to say is that he had a fall," he said. "Until the coroner gets the details, I don't want to say anything else."

Adrian had worked for the past three years as a technician for Walker Farrimond's Volvo dealership on Lomeshaye Industrial Estate.

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