A SCUBA diver from Brentwood who tragically died in the English Channel may have died after surfacing to quickly, a post mortem has revealed.

Christopher Mehegan, 45, died on Saturday, June 14, hours after getting into difficulty off the Eastbourne coastline.

Mr Mehegan was airlifted to Eastbourne General District Hospital along with friend Peter Stanning, 44, from London, where both were pronounced dead.

The post-mortem examination showed Mr Mehegan died from diffuse gas embolism due to pulmonary barotraumas – where gas expands in the lungs. It can be caused by rising with speed and not exhaling enough.

Mr Stanning’s cause of death was given as water inhalation.

The pair had been part of a dive group that had set out into the Channel aboard a boat called the Channel Diver, owned by Sussex company Channel Diving.

Just hours before his death, Mr Mehegan, who reportedly had a number of years of diving experience, posted a picture on his Facebook showing the Channel, with the caption: “Flat calm slightly overcast for today's dive mid channel >60m dive on board Channel Diver.”

An inquest date has yet to be set.