POLICE who investigated the tragic death of teenager Jack Gudge have confirmed no one will face charges.

An inquest has heard Jack, 17, died minutes after being punched in the face by Karl James in an incident outside Tesco Express in Winton.

The coroner also heard that Mr James’ friends, Adam King and David Ellison-Florentine, bragged about kicking Jack as he lay dying in the road.

But senior investigating officer Neil Devoto told the inquest there is “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.”

The inquest has been told that Jack “flopped to the ground” after being punched just before 1am on July 16 last year.

Police were on the scene shortly afterwards but it was 27 minutes before an ambulance arrived at the scene.

By then, Jack, of Pilot Hight Road, was already in cardiac arrest and attempts were being made to resuscitate him.

He was taken to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and was pronounced dead at 2.20am.

Karl James, 26, David Ellison Florentine, 24, Adam King, 28, and a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons were arrested on suspicion of murder but have all since been released with no further action.

Witness Melanie Snooks told Assistant Dorset Coroner Richard Middleton: “It was a really hard punch like you see in a boxing fight” and Geno Lewis added: “The punch appeared to lift him off the floor.”

The inquest, which has been heard at Weymouth magistrates’ court and at Bournemouth town hall this week, heard from Karl James who said: “I punched him - it was just the one punch. I am sorry for the events that occurred that night and I understand that a lot of people are angry.”

Mr Ellison-Florentine told how Jack “ran towards us aggressively shouting ‘come on then’. He was trying to instigate a violent situation. Karl was the one that threw the punch that knocked him down. He punched him in self-defence.”

The inquest heard that Jack and a group of his friends had been to a house party in Moordown and had consumed alcohol and cannabis.

After leaving the party they walked through Winton and Jack, described as “really drunk”, removed clothing from his top half.

The coroner was told that Jack punched another teenager in the face before he was punched himself.

Jack’s girlfriend, Nicole Kearley, said someone shouted “that’s what you get for being cheeky” after Jack “flopped to the ground like there was a weight in his body.”

A Home Office pathologist said Jack died of respiratory arrest, followed by cardiac arrest due to brain injury “augmented by alcohol.”

He had a blood alcohol level of 137 - the legal limit for driving is 80. The inquest was told the alcohol alone does not account for his death.

The inquest has been adjourned to a date to be fixed to allow for one more witness to give evidence.