MYSTERY surrounds the death of a pensioner whose remains were found by workmen in a ditch on the A338 Spur Road - two years after he was reported missing.

The remains of John Harris, 73, were discovered on October 27 this year in an area of undergrowth 10 feet away from the northbound carriageway close to the Blackwater Bridge slip road.

An inquest at Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset coroners court yesterday heard that the body was named as Mr Harris through hospital identification he had with him and an unusual jumper he had been known to wear.

Senior coroner's officer Julian Jeneson said Mr Harris, of Alma Road in Winton, had been reported missing in 2002 by his friends.

He added that he had carried out extensive inquiries in the UK and abroad but had failed to find any family members. There was no next of kin on his medical records.

Mr Jeneson told the inquest that Mr Harris had met a number of friends at the former Central Bar in Bournemouth in the late 1970s and at Winton Working Men's Club in his latter years. Friends said Mr Harris had told them he was an RAF Bomber Commander.

Mr Jeneson said Mr Harris spoke to friends of emigrating to New Zealand with his wife, who gave birth to her son there, and leaving them in New Zealand when the marriage broke down.

Pathologist Dr Basil Purdue found that cause of death could not be ascertained.

Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Coroner Sheriff Payne recorded an open verdict.

Mr Harris' funeral will be held at Bournemouth Crematorium on December 30 at 10am.

First published: December 22