Missing lawyer fell to his death from cruise ship balcony

A TOP lawyer died after plunging into the sea from the balcony of his cabin during a cruise, a judge has found.

- Richard Gittins

Nigel Blythe-Tinker, 72, the former head of legal at betting giants William Hill, had gone missing while on board in the Mediterranean.

London's High Court heard the alarm was raised when Mr BlytheTinker, also formerly chairman of Ladbrokes' parent company GVC Holdings (now Entain), failed to disembark at Barcelona.

He had been on the Seven Seas Mariner liner when it left Marseille the previous day in July last year.

His family made "desperate attempts" to contact him and crew found his cabin empty with his "clothes folded neatly on the bed".

Sophie Blythe-Tinker brought the case to seek clarity over the fate of her father. Having heard legal evidence, judge Chief Master Karen Shuman declared that he died after falling feet-first into the sea from his balcony in the early hours.