A GRIEVING family is battling the Austrian government to get their dead son's bones returned to the UK.

Chris Knight, 28, from East Challow near Wantage, died in a crash while riding his motorbike in Austria on October 25.

His body was repatriated to the UK and the family held his funeral in November.

However they were only told last month that when his body was returned an Oxford pathologist discovered two of his neck bones had been removed.

The issue came to a head yesterday at an inquest into Chris's death at Oxford Coroner's Court.

His father Phil, who attended with Chris's mother Denise and little brother Ben, said it was a 'scandal' that not only were the bones not returned, but that the family were only informed seven months after they had buried their son.

He told Oxfordshire Coroner Darren Salter: "They haven't sought permission from us as a family, and we understood when he came back for us to bury him we had all of him.

"For us to find out part of him is missing is a scandal and we shouldn't have had to instigate an inquiry through your office to ask where these bones are.

"We as a family have been under immense pressure and sadness since he died and to now have to deal with this is ridiculous."

Chris, who went to King Alfred's school in Wantage, had a promising career as a 3D graphic designer.

Working as a team leader for Skills2Learn in Milton Keynes he helped create 3D models used by the Royal Navy.

He was also a passionate and, his family said, rigorously safety-conscious motorcyclist, even teaching his little brother to ride.

Distressingly for his family, the driver he collided with on holiday was adamant that Chris was on the wrong side of the road at the time.

Austrian police initially launched an investigation into 'involuntary manslaughter' but Mr Salter said yesterday he was not aware of any ongoing investigation.

The Austrian pathologist who carried out the first post mortem exam described a fracture of the ninth and tenth thoracic vertebrae at the top of Chris's spine.

It is these two bones which are now missing from Chris's body, which meant the UK pathologist was not able to make any conclusions about how they were damaged.

Despite that, Mr Salter said he was happy with both pathologists' conclusions that the cause of death was 'multiple injuries'.

However he also agreed with the family yesterday that it was not acceptable that the two bones had not been returned without their knowledge.

He has already written to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) asking if the vertebrae can be returned, but he also yesterday told the family he would raise the issue with other UK coroners about pathologists not informing families if they discover irregularities such as missing bones.

Mr Salter said he was told the FCO had contacted the Austrian authorities and was awaiting a response.

He recorded a conclusion of death by road traffic accident.