THE decomposed bodies of a man and a dog have been found near a golf course in Bournemouth.

The harrowing discovery was made by a dog walker on marshland near the 17th tee at Playgolf earlier this month.

Coroner's officers formally identified the man as John Paul Dadds from a hospital bracelet found on his wrist.

The cause of his death is unknown but police say it is not believed to be suspicious.

A spokesman from the Coroner’s Office said Mr Dadds, whose last known address was in London, was discharged from Royal Bournemouth Hospital on October 31, last year. He would have been 44-years-old at the time.

Peter Gilbert, general manager at Playgolf, said the body was discovered on a section of common land next to the golf course.

"The water levels in the marshland have gone down. That's why no one would have seen it before," he said.

Mr Gilbert said parts of the bodies were submerged under water and a police marine unit was called in to recover them from the marshland.

"It's not something you see everyday," he added.

"It was a really sad thing to come across. We just wanted to assist the police as best we could."

An inquest into Mr Dadd's death was opened and adjourned at the coroner’s court in Bournemouth.

Coroner’s officer, Allan Young, said a member of the public entered Christchurch Police Station stating that when he was walking his dog he had discovered human remains on Thursday, March 12.

Mr Young added: “The body was badly decomposed. It was found lying under water opposite a bank of trees that leads up to Riverside Avenue and the back of Tesco.”

He said the dog, possibly a black and tanned terrier, was discovered near Mr Dadds’s body. It had a collar and lead still attached to it but no identification tag.

After carrying out a post mortem, Dr Simon Rasbridge, consultant pathologist at Royal Bournemouth Hospital, recorded the cause of Mr Dadd’s death as unascertained.

A spokesman from Dorset Police said the death is being treated as unexplained but it not believed to be suspicious.

Sheriff Payne, Coroner for Dorset, adjourned the inquest to allow further enquiries to be made. It is due to be re-opened in June.

Cllr Lawrence Williams, who represents Littledown and Iford, said he was surprised to hear of the tragic death.

“It’s a terrible tragedy," he said. "My feelings go out to the man's family at this sad time.”