Body in lake is speed ace Campbell

The Bluebird was recovered from the lake in March

BARROW-IN-FURNESS, England -- Human remains discovered at the bottom of a northern English lake are those of the speed record breaker Donald Campbell, an inquest has ruled.

A coroner ruled on Friday that the skeleton was that of Campbell following DNA tests that showed that it was 1.9 million times more likely to be the driver than anyone else.

Campbell died when his Bluebird jet boat vaulted into the air and crashed on Coniston Water in the Lake District in northern England in 1967 while attempting to break his own water-speed record of 276.3 mph (445 kph).

A team of divers salvaged the boat from waters as deep as 150 feet (45 metres) as well as the remains of a skeleton found nearby earlier this year.

Coroner Ian Smith said at the inquest in Barrow-in Furness: "I am satisfied beyond any doubt that the remains are that of Donald Malcolm Campbell CBE."

The skeleton had been tested against a DNA sample taken from Campbell's daughter Gina, 51, who said after the ruling that she was "totally relieved" by its outcome.

She added: "Now there is no doubt. The mystery of the lake now becomes a reality."

A funeral service will be held for Campbell in September in the town of Coniston, his family said.