A young Tory activist who made allegations of bullying within the Conservative Party and was later found dead on a railway line after being hit by a train took his own life, a coroner has ruled.

Elliott Johnson, 21, was found dead on tracks in Sandy, Bedfordshire in September last year just weeks after making the allegations.

The proceedings at the inquest in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, focused on the fact the young Tory believed he was being bullied and that he was made redundant by pressure group Conservative Way Forward (CWF) shortly after making the allegation.

In a detailed complaint, Mr Johnson had accused former Conservative Party activist Mark Clarke of bullying, following an altercation in a pub in central London during which Mr Clarke was alleged to have threatened to "squash" him "like an ant".

Mr Clarke, who has since been expelled from the Conservative party, strongly denies the allegations.

On the morning of the day he died, Mr Johnson booked a train ticket online, travelled from King's Cross station in London to Sandy and walked less than a mile away from the station before being struck by a train.

Police found three letters in his flat in Tooting, south London, after he died. One addressed to his parents said he felt he had failed at work and politics.

Mr Johnson's father, Ray Johnson, told the inquest his son was caught up in a "victimisation campaign" said he believed Mr Clarke had "ruined" his son's career.

He also said he believed Mr Clarke had told his son's employers of a caution Mr Johnson purportedly received for tweeting election results, even though no record of a caution existed.

At times, the coroner interjected to remind the family's legal team of the scope of the inquest.

"I'm not going to allow this to degenerate into a trial of Mark Clarke," he said.

Mr Johnson's allegations eventually sparked an investigation and the resignation of former party chairman Grant Shapps.