Mystery surrounds man found dead in a field next to suitcase, decanter and a wedding catalogue

Police are trying to ascertain the identity of a mystery man whose body was found half naked next to a decanter, a wedding catalogue, an Oyster card and a black suitcase in Kent.

North East Kent Coroner's Court heard that the man was in his 50s/60s, may have been from Eastern Europe and "never wanted to be found".

The body was found in a field in Canterbury with a book on clinical theology and the wedding catalogue addressed to a woman called Mandy Martin also close by.

The discovery was made by a dog walker in a field bordering Hollow Lane in Wincheap on 3 February with the court hearing that he was "living at the edge of existence", reported The Mirror.

It was heard that the mystery man, who was 5ft 5in – 6in tall, had no injuries when he was found and Europe-wide DNA checks are now being carried out to try and establish his identity.

A pathologist told the inquest, in Margate, the man died from heart disease, which could have been brought on by cirrhosis of the liver, that may have been triggered by starvation.

Kent police have created a forensic reconstruction of his face to circulate to local residents and fruit pickers in the area who may have known the man.

Detective Sergeant Gary Stamp said: "There were no signs of injury, no clues in his clothing. His fingerprints had no match and we couldn't match any DNA samples.

"We went right across Europe to try to find the identity of this man. We carried out extensive house-to-house inquiries and talked to fruit pickers in the area but we found nothing.

He continued: "We also went to two homeless centres in Canterbury and they couldn't help."

Walker Gareth Morgan initially mistook the body for a pile of rubbish, he said: "I got to it and realised it was the body of a white male.

"He had no top on and there were items surrounding him, including a book. I called 999."

Assistant north east Kent coroner Ian Gollop said: "This is clearly a man who didn't want to be found and was living at the edge of existence."

The coroner ruled that the man had died from natural causes.