The parents of a 26-year-old Royal Navy lieutenant will never know why their son collapsed and died while out jogging.

It was revealed in an inquest that friends and colleagues battled in vain to save Joseph Wright, who was once part of the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The talented seaman from Conyer, who has been described as “kind, fun and loyal”, fell to the ground at the Faslane naval base in Scotland on January 8, and never regained consciousness.

A post-mortem examination failed to find any medical cause of death, which led assistant coroner Christine Freeman to conclude a narrative verdict at Folkestone Coroner’s Court.

She read out a statement from Scottish police in front of Mr Wright’s parents, Janice and John, telling how witness Alex Gobby had seen Joseph running up a hill.

She went on: “A few minutes later he went past again and saw Joseph obviously distressed lying on the pavement.

“He approached him and observed his breathing to be low, but found a pulse. He placed him in the recovery position and called an ambulance.”

Desperate attempts to resuscitate Mr Wright proved unsuccessful.

He was pronounced dead just minutes later when paramedics arrived on the scene.

Mrs Freeman concluded: “There is nothing to indicate it was anything other than natural causes, and the post-mortem has not been able to ascertain a cause of death.

“Tragically, we have a young man here with no medical history and a post-mortem with no conclusion.

“There are a number of possible causes but none of which can be proven.”

A keen sailor, rugby player and cyclist, Mr Wright’s biggest passion was his role in the Navy.

He was a pupil at Borden Grammar School in Sittingbourne and, after discovering that university was not for him, he joined the Navy in early 2010 as a submarine warfare officer.

He then went on to work aboard HMS Ark Royal and then HMS Tireless, supporting international efforts to locate missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 off Australia.

He joined HMS Victorious Starboard crew as a navigating officer in late 2015, ready to conduct his first nuclear deterrent patrol.

At the time of Lt Wright’s death, friend and colleague Lt Hamish Maxwell, said: “Joe was larger than life. Here was a man who would not only delight in cheering up his friends, but also take the lonely guy in class under his wing.

“He would make tough times easier and good times unforgettable.

“To his mates, Joe was kind, fun and loyal – a winning combination in a friend. Joe loved the Navy. In return, the service has lost a very bright star, an irreplaceable officer, a one-of-a-kind, larger-than-life friend.”