THE man whose badly decomposed body was found last week in woods at Ombersley, near Droitwich, was suffering from depression, an inquest heard.

Joseph Thain, a computer engineer from, Hayes in Middlesex, was discovered last Monday in Hawford Woods.

An inquest into his death heard that Mr Thain, aged 59, had been reported missing in March.

Fingerprints

Mr Thain was identified by his fingerprints but Worcestershire coroner, Victor Round, said yesterday it was only possible to tell his body had been there "a matter of weeks".

Mr Round added that no cause of death was available and that there was no more information available about how Mr Thain came to be found in Worcestershire, before he adjourned the inquest to a date yet to be fixed.

Grisly find

The grisly find shocked local residents and brought back memories of the discovery of murdered French student Celine Figard. Celine's body was dumped in the wood after she was raped and killed by lorry driver Stuart Morgan in 1995.

A police spokesman said officers are keeping "an open mind" about Mr Thain's death.