THE mother of a man found dead in France said she found "discrepancies, incompetence and untruths" when she travelled to the country to investigate the death herself after officials refused to help.

Julie Sheppard says the evidence suggests her son, Andrew Watt, was being chased or was running away from someone in the moments before his death.

Mr Watt, 31, from Durham City, was found dead about a mile from Vimarce, near Laval, in North-West France, in September 2010.

As part of their five-year campaign to discover the truth behind the death, Mrs Sheppard and Mr Watt's stepfather Les Sheppard went to France last week to speak to witnesses and officials.

The trip was made ahead of an inquest into Mr Watt's death due to take place this week in Crook, County Durham.

French doctors concluded that the former Durham Johnston School pupil died of heart failure.

However, his family have questioned the judgement and believe the French police investigation into the death was flawed.

The Sheppards have urged the French authorities to re-examine the circumstances surrounding Mr Watt's death but they have refused.

Appeals for help from the British government have also been rejected.

Mrs Sheppard said: "We felt that if we didn't go out and get some answers ourselves before the inquest then nobody else was going to do it."

She added that the family's investigation had revealed a number of contradictions and anomalies in the official reports and statements on her son's death.

These include:

- Conflicting information from witnesses on when Mr Watt was last seen

- Mr Watt's body was found with a broken ankle and bruising and scratches to his torso - injuries that have never been explained

- One doctor thought he could have been hit by a car but this was apparently never a line of inquiry

- Police failed to conduct house-to-house inquiries near the scene

- A Gendarmerie report said Mr Watt had committed suicide after running away but no evidence was given to support theory

Although several officials and witnessed refused to speak to the Sheppards, a walker who found Mr Watt was helpful.

He told Mrs Sheppard that her son had blood on his legs, a badly damaged ankle and numerous scratches on his body.

He was convinced that he had been trying to climb up a high bank into a cornfield when he died.

This has further convinced the Sheppards that Mr Watt was running away from someone at the time of his death.

"There have been discrepancies, incompetence and untruths from day one," said Mrs Sheppard.

"They have no idea what he was doing at the time. We still believe someone or some people were chasing him and whatever happened during that time caused his death."

The findings have been passed to the coroner and Durham Constabulary, who are looking into the case, ahead of the inquest.