The mother of a chef who died after his body was found in the sea has claimed that a legal high drug may have contributed to his death.

The body of 24-year-old Michael Bishton was found by a fisherman off Whitecliff Bay, near Bembridge, Isle of Wight, on Saturday.

His mother, Tami, has said that he took the legal high Ivory Wave in the days before his death and had suffered paranoid hallucinations.

She told The Sun: "He had always been hard-working. But there was a big change in him when he took these drugs. I saw him acting madly. He'd run around the house talking to people that weren't there. I've lost my son to this drug.

"It spins your brain. I cannot believe you can simply walk into a shop and buy something that induces madness for £15."

Ivory Wave is sold legally for about £15 a packet and is advertised as relaxing bath salts. But the product has become popular as a legal alternative to illicit drugs.

His girlfriend, Sammy Betts, 21, told the newspaper she was expecting her second child with Mr Bishton but had not told him before he died.

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said that they were still investigating the death of Mr Bishton, who lived in Ryde, Isle of Wight. It is understood that toxicology tests are being carried out to establish whether Ivory Wave or any other substances played a part in his death.

The spokesman said: "The death is not being treated as suspicious at this time. Police are preparing a file for the Isle of Wight Coroner."