TWENTY years after the body of an unidentified young man was found in the River Avon in Bristol, the country’s top judges have agreed to re-open the investigation.

The decision was made after fingerprint and facial mapping evidence emerged that the dead man may well be James Clint Elam, who has been missing from his home in Stroud since May 1994.

Top judges at London's High Court today, Friday, took the extremely rare step of ordering a fresh inquest so that Avon Coroner, Maria Voisin, can analyse the evidence and, hopefully, finally uncover the truth.

Judge Peter Thornton QC said that an unidentified male body was found in the River Avon, close to Cumberland Road in Bristol on May 28, 1994.

An inquest was held in September that year and the coroner, Paul Forrest, entered an open verdict with the cause of death recorded as 'unascertained'.

Following the inquest the body was buried in South Bristol Cemetery.

Identification details of the body were sent to Interpol but no matches were found on its database and the deceased's identity remained unknown.

However, in 2012 the family of James Elam contacted the police after seeing a report about the body on a national missing persons website.

James was aged 26 when he was last seen on May Day in 1994 – just under a month before the body was found.

He had left his home in Stroud to make inquiries about a job in Devon but the judge said there were signs that he had returned home the following day.

The family's inquiry triggered a fresh investigation and police believed that James' fingerprints matched the body.

Specialists in forensic imagery analysis have carried out photographic comparisons which also supported the match.

The case was referred to the High Court by the Attorney General's office on the basis that it might now be possible to identify the body.

Judge Thornton, sitting with Mr Justice Hickinbottom, quashed the 1994 verdict and ordered a fresh inquest.

He concluded: "In this way, the coroner will be able to consider the new evidence of identity and, if appropriate, revisit the original verdict".

SNJ sports editor was part of James' peer group and said: "James was such a nice chap and always had his dog with him. I remember him well."