A university student fell to his death from a bridge after being dismissed from his course and told he would have to leave his accommodation, an inquest has heard.

The parents of Benjamin Murray, 19, who was a first year English student at Bristol, where there has been a number of suicides, claim no officials gave him the support he needed and said he had been let down by the university.

Murray’s family allege dozens of members of staff were involved with him, but he was not seen face to face with anybody to discuss his struggle to settle at the university.

Shortly before he died, Murray was sent a letter and an email saying the university had decided to dismiss him, the inquest was told. It is not clear if he opened the letter, but he made a screenshot of an email about his future and asked friends what it meant.

At the inquest at Avon coroner’s court, the student’s parents, James and Janet Murray, said they felt the university had failed their son.

“He spent far too long struggling. Much earlier intervention was needed and should have happened,” they said in a statement.

“Ben was not even referred to the university halls welfare officer, as he was not considered at risk. But in the workplace, you do not just send letters to sack people. There are proper, face-to-face procedures that should be followed.

“For a 19-year-old fresher to be kicked out of his first-year course without a face-to-face meeting is unacceptable and extraordinary.

“If a 19-year-old says he is anxious and is not attending lectures, you should immediately take action. What further signs do you need that something is wrong? We believe Bristol University failed on a number of occasions with the lack of pastoral care given to Ben.”

James Murray said he saw his son for lunch hours before he died in May last year.

“He didn’t eat much of his food as he said he didn’t feel hungry. He mentioned that Bristol University had written to him to say that if he didn’t engage, they might remove him from the university,” he said.

“After lunch, I hugged him and told him I loved him, and he went back to his halls – or at least, that was what he told me.

“I feel like that last lunch I walked into a perfect storm – not knowing that he had been kicked out already, and was being forced out [of] his accommodation, his home, the following week.”

The inquest heard Murray had hoped to go to Edinburgh University with his long-term girlfriend and his mother said the long-distance relationship was hard for both of them.

“Ben was under academic pressure. He was also facing bereavement, having lost both his grandparents to cancer,” she said.

Murray twice told a senior tutor he was not feeling well and had been “struggling to connect”, the inquest heard.

But although the tutor emailed Murray with information on how to register with student services, no checks were made on whether he actually did so, it is claimed.

One of his friends, Stefan Lossev, said Murray messaged him the day before his death, concerned and confused about an email informing him he had to move out of his halls the following week.

Murray wrote “I’m confused”, and Lossev replied: “Well you have been kicked out of university.” Murray wrote to Lossev: “I feel like I’m leaving the Matrix or unplugging.”

The inquest heard Murray had been known to take recreational drugs, which may have contributed to his poor attendance at lectures. The hearing is expected to conclude on Thursday.