02/04/2007 Jason Holmes (Costa Rica) ***Fatal***

[sharkbait]

Man eaten by shark
By Ben Parsons
A 36-year-old Brighton man has been eaten by a shark in the Caribbean.

Jason Cash was swimming when he went missing off the coast of Costa Rica, where he lived with his wife Sandra and ten-month-old daughter, Sula.

His remains were later washed up on a beach.

advertisementMr Cash, also known as Jason Holmes, moved to Costa Rica three years ago after spending most of his life in Moulsecoomb and Whitehawk.

He lived in the capital city of San Jose with his family. He is thought to have died on February 4 or February 5.

His brother, Leigh, and father, Noel, flew to Costa Rica where Mr Cash was cremated in a service last week.

Half his ashes were given to his wife to scatter on a mountainside, to provide a place for his daughter to visit in future years.

His remaining ashes have been brought back to England. Noel, who lives in Hove, intends to plant them with the seed of a native Costa Rican tree in his garden when he moves to a new home in Shoreham.

Leigh, 29, last saw his brother alive when he dropped him off at the airport for a flight to Costa Rica last August.

He said: "He was always down there on the beach. It was that sort of lifestyle."

He remembered his brother as "a bit of a hippy" who would appreciate the idea of his ashes growing with a tree.

Friends paid their own tribute in Whitehawk yesterday, gathering to plant another tree in his memory.

Mr Cash was known as a musician, who enjoyed DJ-ing at parties around the city.

Family friend Steve Boyle said: "He was such a lovely fellow and a nice person to everyone.

"I've never known anyone be so popular."

An examination of Mr Cash's remains revealed the cause of death as drowning and it remains unclear whether he survived an initial attack and drowned or was eaten after his death.

Brighton-based diving instructor Rob Breskal has several years' experience working in shark-infested areas.

He said declining fish stocks were driving known man-eaters such as tiger sharks closer to the shore.

He said: "You wouldn't have to go out very far at all to meet one.

"The tiger shark is known to seek out its prey, including humans. They are incredibly efficient predators.

"Because of the size of the animal you are going to have a very serious injury if it attacks.

"You don't have very many people getting bitten by a tiger shark and surviving."

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