THE opening of an inquest into the death of a Golders Green man in suspicious circumstances in Germany was hailed “the most amazing day” by his mother.

Erica Duggan has battled along with family and friends for seven years for a new inquest into the death of her son Jeremiah, a Jewish student who died on a road near Weisbaden, in Germany in 2003.

German police and a previous inquest ruled the 22-year-old had committed suicide.

In May, Mrs Duggan was granted another inquest by High Court judges who agreed there was new evidence in the circumstances surrounding Jeremiah's death.

Yesterday, the inquest opened at Barnet Coroners Court, in Wood Street, and coroner Andrew Walker ordered files to be passed to police for further investigation.

Mrs Duggan told the Times Series: “It was the most amazing day and an amazing experience. For seven years I have wanted one thing, a proper investigation.

“Here was somebody in authority, a coroner, who will look at the files and saw immediately what had to be done. He was very fair and impressed me greatly.

“It made me feel this is a system of justice that's going to work at long last. It restored my faith in the coroner's system.”

Mrs Duggan and other campaigners are now compiling their files for the inquest, which must be given to the coroner in a fortnight, before another hearing in late July.

She added: “After the hearing, the coroner apologised to me for it taking seven years to reach this point and that meant a lot to me.”