A SUPERYACHT deckhand tonight claimed British stewardess Rebecca Boyle was downing vodka straight from the bottle in the hours leading up to her tragic death.

South African Jonty Brits said Rebecca, 32, was left "unsteady on her feet" when she returned to her cabin - where cops say she fell and broke her neck.

Cops in Imperia, Italy, say Rebecca died after falling down the steps after a night celebrating England's World Cup victory against Colombia.

She had only started work as chief stewardess on board the £6million 47-metre La Polonia last week and was working on it while it was docked in Imperia, on the Italian Riveria.

Jonty told The Sun Online: "I can tell you precisely what happened because I was the only one sober. And the police have told me that my story is fully backed up by video pictures they have.

"I first saw her at around 7pm sitting on a bench opposite my boat which was alongside hers. She was with a tall crew-mate. They were both drinking vodka straight out of the bottle and talking quite loudly.

"I left them there to go and watch England's World Cup match at Le Grotte, a bar near the quayside. It is the one all the crews favour. I did not see Rebecca there, though it was quite crowded.

"I invited her and her colleague to join me and a member of my crew to the Jacuzzi on our sundeck. She said something about a great result for England, but wasn't making a lot of sense otherwise.

"She was still drinking vodka but could only manage three sips or so. I had to help her down from the sundeck when she left around midnight.

"Her colleague stayed behind. I got her off the boat OK, and helped her onto her own gangway. I could not go on with her because it was private.

Rebecca was very unsteady on her feet. The last I saw of her was when she entered the doors to the ship. It is very sad".

Earlier reports that she had left the boat to visit the local bar were incorrect, according to a crew member who said she watched the game aboard the Polonia.

The Maltese-registered vessel had arrived at the Italian port last week and was undergoing a changeover ahead of a new arrival.

Crew members raised the alarm yesterday morning when she failed to turn up for breakfast and found her lifeless in her cabin.

Colonel Pier Enrico Burri, of the Imperia Carabinieri, today told The Sun Online: "The cause of death is still unknown but it seems as though she may have stumbled or slipped inside her cabin and hit her head or neck hard, breaking her vertebrae.

"She seems to have died between 12pm and 1am and her body was found about 8am. An Italian member of crew rang to alert us.

"The body was on the floor. The cabin was single, she slept there alone and very small as they are on boats. Her suitcases were on the floor as though she were rearranging things.

"She may have hit her head on the door of the cabin or while getting her suitcase down. These cabins are very constrained."

He added: "There was no blood and no traces of violence or other people. It seems as if no one else was on board when she died.

"The autopsy has to be done still but it looks like an accident."

And Matteo Andracco, the lawyer representing the boat's owners, said the boat's chief engineer heard her alarm go off about 6.30am.

"After a few minutes when she didn't turn it off he went in and saw she was not moving, so they called an ambulance. In her room there were two levels, a lower level with the bed and an upper level with a small bathroom.

"It seems likely she fell down the five or six steps between the levels. So far nobody is under investigation. Police believe it was just an unlucky accident."

Neighbours of Rebecca's, in London's trendy Notting Hill, today paid tribute to her, saying she was a "genuinely nice person" who always said hello.

One, called Chris, said: "She never caused any trouble here. She kept herself to herself, but always said 'hello' to me and my kids.

He added: "It's genuinely shocking to hear, she was so young. It's always the nice ones it happens to. I hope for the family gets this sorted out soon."