AN INQUEST into a man whose remains were found after a heathland fire near Ferndown 12 years ago has been opened.

Skeletal remains of what is believed to be a middle-aged man were found by firefighters tackling a fire at Parley Common off Tamar Close on August 15, 2006.

At the opening of the inquest at Bournemouth Coroner’s Court on Monday, coroner’s officer Ken McEwan said that the remains were found under a mattress in a gulley about 300 yards from Tamar Close by firefighters who were damping down the blaze which had been started by arsonists.

He said that initial forensic investigations revealed that the remains belonged to a middle-aged male who is believed to have died “some years” prior to the find.

At the time, a team of experts, including forensic archaeologists, worked around the clock for several days to recover the remains which had been hidden by dense overgrowth just a few yards from the main pathway before the fire.

Bournemouth Echo:

Detectives were able to ascertain that the man had lost his teeth before his death and that he was probably right-handed, however they have been unable to work out his identity.

A post-mortem carried out on August 24, 2006 could not ascertain the cause of his death.

Assistant coroner Brendan Allen adjourned the inquest until 11.30am on July 17, requesting that a statement is provided by police in the meantime.

A police spokeswoman said that they had carried out “exhaustive enquiries” to try and identify the man.

She said: “Following the discovery of human skeletal remains found on Parley Common on Tuesday, August 15 2006, a post-mortem examination was carried out.

“No cause of death was ascertained but it is believed the remains were that of a man aged between 40 and 60 years old.

“It is difficult to say how long the remains were on Parley Common other than to say it is believed they had been there since January 2000.

“Exhaustive enquiries have been carried out by officers in a bid to identify the man and these remain ongoing.”

Anyone with information as to this man’s identity is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55170131531.