Matthew Smith, 26, was fatally electrocuted after trying to disconnect a stereo that was keeping him awake.

Hours of noisy caravan music had kept Matthew Smith awake for hours the night he died.

After midnight, a frustrated Smith got up to disconnect the offending stereo at one of the neighbouring caravans.

But the 26-year-old died trying to cut the power plug while the cord was still connected to the power box.

At 3am, Smith's body was found with a tool and power cord in his hand.

A coroner has now ruled that all campgrounds should have residual current devices installed to protect people from the risk of harmful shocks.

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Coroner Debra Bell has ruled that the cause of Smith's death was consistent with electrocution.

The Hamilton-based lighting technician died on January 14 in 2015, at the Whangaruru Beachfront Camp in Oakura, while on a summer camping trip with his best friend Richard Voschezang​.

Smith spent most summer holidays camping in Northland with friends and had meant to stay at the campsite until until January 17.

In her coronial findings, Bell described Smith's death as "a tragic accident that has occurred due to Mr Smith becoming frustrated with the noise that was emanating from the caravan next to him".

Police found no evidence of foul play and said nobody else was involved in Smith's death, which Bell accepted in her findings.

Toxicology testing found the about 78 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres, above the 50 milligrams per 100 millilitres driving limit.

The night Smith died, Voschezang and Smith went to bed at about 10.30pm, but neither of them could sleep because of loud music coming out of a neighbouring stereo.

"Mr Smith became so frustrated with the noise from the stereo and said to Mr Voschezang that he was going to go and disconnect the power," the coroner reported.

"It then appears that Mr Smith has attempted to cut the power cord, using a metal Leatherman multi-tool.

"The police, in a statement prepared for my inquiry, state that Mr Smith has gone to the caravan next door, removed the power cord from the caravan where the music was playing whilst leaving the other end of the cable plugged into the camp-ground power box."

A nearby camper, Joshua Bassnet found Smith face down and next to the power box, when he went to find out why his power had stopped working.

"He initially thought Mr Smith may have passed out, therefore he attempted to try and wake him."

But Bassnet received an electric shock when he touched Smith's body.

Instead, he called for help and unplugged the cord from the power box.

Emergency services were called but unable to revive Smith.

Voschezang, who woke from the commotion, found his best friend lying face down and rolled him over to find Smith's pliers in his hand. .

Smith's Leatherman multi-tool had become fused into his hand, along with a half severed power cord still connected to the power meter.

The campsite's power sources were in certified and in good, working condition, according to Bell's findings.

Energy Safety NZ officer Miles Bonfield said a requirement for residual current devices (RCD) was introduced in 2013, but only for new campsites, meaning Whangaruru did not have them.

Campsites that were energy safety compliant before 2013 didn't have to install RCDs.

Bell recommended RCDs be installed at all camps and caravan parks to protect people from the risk of harmful shocks.