A FARNHAM teenager died of “catastrophic” head injuries after sticking his head out of a Paris Metro train to take a selfie, an inquest has heard.

Nye ‘Frankie’ Newman, a 17-year-old free-runner who had only recently graduated from All Hallows School in Farnham, had travelled with his girlfriend and a group of friends to the French capital for New Year’s Eve.

Basingstoke Coroner’s Court heard they were on a train to the Eiffel Tower for the fireworks on December 31 when Nye climbed up between two carriages and was struck by an object.

Hampshire coroner Andrew Bradley recorded a verdict of accidental death.

A friend, Joel Alvey-Taylor, denied Nye was drunk despite drinking vodka earlier in the evening, and added he ignored their pleas to come back inside the train.

Nye’s mother, Deborah Newman, had messaged him on Facebook earlier that day saying “I love you and be careful”, to which Nye replied he was “having a great time”.

However, she was later told by telephone by Nye’s girlfriend, Nicole Tunnell, that her son had been hurt and travelled to Paris the next day.

There she found Nye was being kept alive by a life support machine. As doctors said he would not survive the machine was switched off.

Nye and his friend Rikke Brewer together founded Brewman, a parkour group of free-running athletes that routinely reaches tens of thousands of views across social media and YouTube.

Mr Bradley added: “It’s desperate, he died doing what he wanted to do, as difficult as it is, he was a happier boy for having done it.”

In a statement Nye’s family said: “We are heartbroken by the loss of our beloved son, grandson, brother, cousin and nephew.

“Nye’s was an extraordinary young life which touched so many.”