THE family of a talented sailor who drowned while doing his dream job in France fear they will never be able to piece together the final moments of his life.

The body of 22-year-old Michael Hanlon, from Windermere, was discovered in the water off the coast of Antibes, near Cannes, in April 2013.

But his heartbroken family have been told by French authorities that a key eye-witness account from a local fisherman will not be released ahead of his inquest later this month.

"It is the final piece of the jigsaw that has taken us two years to find out how he died," said his mum Fiona.

"When he died we were told the French would be hard to deal with. Because of its closeness and the fact it is in the EU you would think it would be easy and simple but it hasn't been."

Also known as Milo or Mikey, he was working on a luxury vessel as part of his degree with the UK Sailing Academy (UKSA).

A well-loved member of the Royal Windermere Yacht Club, he had arrived in Port Vauban à Antibes after sailing from Antigua in the Caribbean on the night of Saturday April 6 and was due to travel to Venice to teach watersports to several ‘A-list’ celebrities.

Mr Hanlon, who worked at both the Wateredge Inn and the Low Wood Bay Hotel, was last seen on CCTV footage returning to the boat and was reported missing on the Monday morning when he failed to appear for work.

His body was found in the water later that day at around 2.30pm.

After his death Fiona was shown CCTV footage which showed Michael returning to the boat from visiting friends in the town at 11.10pm.

"He came home alone and wanted to go to bed but he was locked out," she explained. "It is supposed to be 24/7 because of the value of the yacht.

"He had no key and there was no security system to let him get in.

"Michael wandered around the different decks and kept returning to the gangway and stern when he heard voices. Then he wasn't seen for around 15 minutes."

Fiona said the video then showed a fisherman jumping up from the deck and pointing into the water.

But she said the video's whereabouts is unknown and that authorities in France will not release the fisherman's interview because the case has been closed - which she had to agree to to allow Michael's body to be released for his funeral.

"We don't know if the fisherman heard a scream, a splash or a thud," she said. "We don't know if Michael was alive when he hit the water.

"Everything is digital so the case doesn't need to be re-opened. We just want a photocopy of that interview."

Embassy spokesman Cyril Blondel said: "That kind of information (the interview) is not communicated to the general public, including relatives of victims.

"However, the coroner may ask the French authorities for details of specific parts of the proceedings, through an MLA (mutual legal assistance request)."

A Cumbria County Council spokesperson said: “It wouldn’t be appropriate to comment on potential evidence or witness statements that could be presented to the coroner at an inquest. The coroner will explain in open court what inquiries have been made.”

Michael's inquest will take place at Kendal County Hall on Wednesday.