AN inquest into a man who died after falling from a bridge over the M5 motorway between Wellington and Taunton will be heard by a jury and could last up to eight days.

Dan Shaw, aged 28, was killed when he was struck by a number of vehicles travelling along the motorway on the evening of January 4, 2021.

Mr Shaw had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and was receiving care in a secure ward of the privately-run Cygnet Hospital, near Taunton.

He had been transferred to the hospital from a unit in Devon five days before his death.

Somerset senior coroner Samantha Marsh this week held a pre-inquest review to determine how the proceedings would be conducted and the extent of the evidence which would need to be presented to the jury.

Mrs Marsh said a jury was required by law whenever a person met a ‘violent’ death while in State custody or detention.

She said the inquest would be held in Wells Town Hall because it was large enough to accommodate the jury and witnesses and other people who needed to be present.

Mrs Marsh said her current workload meant hearings had already been arranged right through to the end of next March.

This meant Mr Shaw’s inquest would not be able to take place until the middle of April, 2024, more than three years since his death.