A ‘KIND, caring and loving’ 17-year-old died in a tragic accident after falling into a quarry after a night out, an inquest heard.

Jack Oliver Gillespie, from Langton Matravers, was found on a ledge in Swanworth Quarry in June 2023, after a search effort involving the community and emergency services, including a police helicopter.

Addressing the inquest at Bournemouth town hall on May 8, Jack’s mother, Clare Deamer, said how he had excelled at the Swanage School, being made head boy.

He had been working at the pub close to his home, the Kings Arms, and had plans to return to college to pursue a career on stage – where his heart was, Ms Deamer said.

“He was very kind, caring and loving young man,” Ms Deamer told the inquest.

“Nothing was ever too much trouble and he would help in any and every way he could.

“I just want people to know what type of person Jack was. He was my world, he was my baby.”

Ms Deamer added: “There’s a saying in our family that everyone should have a Jack. He was just a lovely, wonderful, loving boy.”

The inquest heard how Jack had ‘a few pints’ at the Kings Arms with friends after finishing work on Friday, June 9, before the group headed into Swanage in taxis.

Jack then entered the East Bar by a side patio door, without showing ID, before managing to go to The Club in the town also without showing ID, thanks to a diversion by an older man.

The group left the club at around 3am on June 10, and decided to go to a friend’s house in Worth Matravers.

At around 4.45am, Jack left the house to walk home, despite friends encouraging him to stay over, and appeared on CCTV ‘looking confused’, before walking in the opposite direction to his home.

He appeared briefly on a farm’s CCTV ‘walking at pace’ in the direction of Swanworth Quarry, the last time he was sighted, before cutting across private farmland.

To enter the quarry grounds, Jack would have then had to climb over fencing and either climb over or walk around large ‘bunds’, or banks, that screen the quarry from public view.

Jack was found on a ledge around 40m below the lip of the quarry in one of the deepest parts of the site.

He was reported missing after he failed to turn up at work in the morning, which was 'out of character' and prompted the search, which found Jack’s body in the quarry at around 9pm in the evening of June 10.

Pathologist Dr Robert Blahut ruled Jack’s medical cause of death as traumatic head injuries.

A toxicology screening found recreational amounts of cocaine and ketamine in his system, as well as a ‘low level’ of alcohol.

Assistant coroner for Dorset, Richard Middleton, ruled Jack’s death as an accident.

He did not make any recommendations as he was satisfied that steps taken both in the past and since Jack’s death to deter and prevent people from entering the quarry are sufficient.