AN inquest was held today into the death of popular teenager Kai Hannis.

Kai’s body was found in his shared flat in Ark House, Stroud, on Monday, November 23 last year.

At the time of his passing his family and friends paid tribute to the 18-year-old, describing him as an “extremely popular, happy and cheerful ray of sunshine”.

Meanwhile, dozens of floral tributes were left at Kai’s Mk2 Volkswagen Golf, which he spent hours modifying.

Fireworks and lanterns were sent up in the skies above Selsley Common on the Sunday after his death.

Hundreds of mourners packed into Gloucester Crematorium to pay their final respects in December.

His coffin was adorned with a picture of the beloved car and was carried into the crematorium on a trailer towed by a tractor from the farm where he worked.

Growing up in Quedgeley before moving to Stonehouse, Kai had attended Maidenhill School from Year 9.

The school’s head teacher Pam Wilson said at the time that Kai had been popular with both his peers and younger students.

“He always had a smile on his face and was at all times positive and cheerful. As a member of the school rugby team, he was an exceptional sporting role model – reliable, committed and self-motivated,” she said.

Kai went on to complete an agricultural course at Hartpury College and had worked at Lye Farm from the age of 15.

The inquest at Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court heard how the teen had taken his own life after the break-down of a relationship.

Senior coroner Katy Skerrett gave the cause of death as hanging.

She said: “This was a very impulsive act from a very young man. It is a tragic case, but albeit for a very fleeting moment, he intended to take his own life."

Kai's GP reported that the teenager had not previously expressed suicidal ideation or thoughts of self-harm.

The verdict was recorded as suicide.