A man arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the death of a man pulled from the River Medway has been released without charge.

David Leavey, of Frindsbury Road, Strood, was reported missing by friends on December 30, having not been seen for nearly three weeks.

His body was found in the river near a cruising club in Knights Road, Strood on January 20.

At the opening of the inquest into his death last month, police revealed a 38-year-old man from Rochester had been arrested and bailed.

He has now been released and police are not treating Mr Leavey’s death as suspicious.

Mr Leavey was a heavy drinker and an initial post-mortem examination gave his cause of death as immersion, the hearing was told.

Family and friends of Mr Leavey set up a campaign to try to find him at the beginning of January.

They handed out leaflets in an appeal to the public for information and set up a Help Find David “Skinny” Leavey page on Facebook.

According to the page it was not uncommon for Mr Leavey to be out of contact, which is why he was not reported missing immediately.

A post on the page after Mr Leavey was found read: “We are all very upset at the moment but would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your help and support over the last few weeks. We just wish we could have had a different outcome.”

The inquest has now been adjourned until March 25.

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