Investigation into death of Polish man found washed up on Blackpool beach unable to determine how he got there

Carunta Bugneriu, 26, lived in the resort for just one month before disappearing on an unknown date. His body was washed up on the sand near Gynn Square on November 20, 2021.

During an inquest at Blackpool Coroner’s Court, coroner Louise Rae said: “I cannot establish how he entered the water. There is no CCTV of him entering the water, there is no eye witness reports of him entering the water. I do not have any messages written by the deceased, or anyone who spoke to him recently to assist in determining how he was in the days leading up to his death.

"I don’t know how long he had been in the UK. His bank statements showed he was working for an employment agency, although we don’t know the type of work he did.

"I have no evidence from mental health services or doctors or any evidence that Carunta had ever attempted to hurt himself or take his own life.

"I simply do not know what happened here.”

The court heard that Mr Bugneriu had been born in Poland and grew up with a foster family in Denmark, but was expelled from the country in 2019 after getting in trouble with the law.

He was known to travel spontaneously between Romania, Austria and England, and his foster aunt, Hanne Scorgaard, said it was normal for him to cut contact for weeks at a time.

He was last seen alive in early November by his landlord, Matthew Stapleton, who did not report him missing due to his history of suddenly disappearing and reappearing.

His body was found face-down on the beach at around 6am on November 20 by a passing cyclist, who called 999. A post-mortem examination found his cause of death was drowning, contributed to by a large amount of alcohol in his system – more than three times the legal limit.

READ: Fleetwood man arrested and woman seriously injured after assault in Southfleet Avenue

Ms Scorgaard said: “He always seemed happy, and he never let us know when things were going badly for him.

"We never really knew where he was. Sometimes he was in Austria, then he was in Romania, then he was in England. He was not easy to keep track of. In 2019 my sister-in-law went to visit him in London, so he had been pretty much back and forth, but he was hoping to get back to Denmark one day.

"I can’t say he was ever diagnosed with anything, but he was troubled by all he experienced as a child in Romania. It was really not a nice life he had, and that made him vulnerable mentally.

“He always had a big heart. He was a nice and loving boy, but he was really struggling mentally. He would just get up and leave and we would never really know where he was.”

Handing down a narrative conclusion - a brief explanation of facts used when a short-form conclusion, such as accidental death or suicide, cannot be determined – Ms Rae added: “I’m satisfied that there are no suspicious circumstances, therefore I find it apparent that the only conclusion that I can come to is a narrative one.”