THE body of a teenager lay undiscovered on a Horwich railway line for several hours after his death, it has been revealed.

But the circumstances of how Philip Richard Mulcahy got to be on the track remain a mystery.

Philip, aged 19, was described as "happy, mature and level headed" at an inquest yesterday.

Hours before his body was discovered just yards from Horwich Parkway station, on December 4, Philip, a student at Bolton College, enjoyed a night out with colleagues from the De Vere White's Hotel where he worked as a part-time barman.

A jury at a Bolton inquest heard how Philip, who was not drunk, left his friends in good spirits to catch the 11.20 pm train home and sent a text message to his housemate to say he should be back around midnight.

But the last train was running more than 30 minutes late and Philip, of Hilden Street, The Haulgh, was recorded on the Reebok Stadium's CCTV footage returning to where he had left his friends.

That was the last confirmed sighting of Philip before a passenger boarding a Manchester bound train, spotted his body on the line at 11am the next morning.

He had multiple injuries caused by being hit by at least one train.

British Transport Police closed the line to search the trackside. A number of Philip's belongings including a watch, cash and a personal stereo were recovered but his dark green hold-all has never been found.

Coroner's liaison officer PC Mike Smith told the jury how an intensive investigation included the inspection of all nine trains that had passed along the track before Philip's body was found.

Letters were sent to all guests staying at the nearby Holiday Inn on the night and posters were used to appeal for witnesses. All proved fruitless.

Attempts to trace a middle-aged man believed to have boarded the last train to Bolton from Horwich Parkway on December 3 also failed.

PC Smith said it was a mystery that train drivers and commuters had not noticed the student's body on the tracks, but thought the cold weather may have kept people in the waiting rooms and away from the platform.

A train driver told police he recalled seeing a "reddish mound" on the tracks in the early hours but did not realise it was a body. Plans to investigate on his return were not carried through when he was rerouted.

PC Smith said: "I am amazed his body was not reported earlier."

Philip was described by his mother, Veena Emery, who lives in Plymouth, as "not just a son, but a good friend".

She said: "He had no financial worries or any real problems. He was very happy on his course and had attended all his lectures in the week before his death. He belonged to the Boys' Brigade and was due to join a Bolton brigade. He was also half way through his Duke Of Edinburgh Gold Award."

The jury returned an open verdict with no suggestion that he had taken his own life.