On a hot Monday in July, as the nationwide lockdown eased and beachgoers basked in the summer's heat, police made a grim discovery.

The body of a man was found dead in a house near the coast in Whitstable.

The man was sadly in such a state of decomposition that a post-mortem was unable to work out how he had died.

And now, more than three months after he was found, mystery still surrounds his death.

The alarm was first raised when a landlord who lives in Spain couldn't get in touch with his tenant - a middle-aged man named Marek Jan Moc.

Police were asked to carry out a welfare check, and on July 27, officers visited the property in Lucerne Court, Seasalter.

Finding the front door locked, they entered through the back garden, finding the rear door closed but unlocked.

'He used to walk a sausage dog but no-one had seen him walking for a while...'

Inside, they discovered a tragic scene.

The body of a man was lying upon a bed, and had clearly been there for some time.

An inquest on Thursday heard how the man, who was found at the height of summer just before one of the UK's hottest days on record, had been dressed "appropriately for very hot weather".

A passport bearing the name Marek Jan Moc was found at the scene.

It stated Mr Moc was born on August 13, 1967, making him 52, and revealed he was born in the town of Żywiec, in south-central Poland.

But sadly, the man's body had lain there so long police were unable to compare his face to the passport photo.

Diabetes medication - tablets and an insulin injector - were found on the bedside.

Officers interviewed neighbours, who knew little about Mr Moc. One thought he worked in a bank, while another believed him to be a baker.

They described him as "reclusive", and had not seen him since the lockdown began.

But one neighbour recalled hearing the sound of a shower running in the property about three or four weeks before the man was found.

PC Emily Beal told the inquest: "He used to walk a sausage dog but no-one had seen him walking for a while."

Police found a dog tag in Mr Moc's car outside, and concluded the dog - which is believed to have been elderly - sadly died sometime prior to the man's death.

PC Beal said the property was messy, but there were no signs of a disturbance, and no obvious injuries on the man's body.

Samples were taken, but sadly no dental or DNA matches for the man have been found.

A post-mortem was unable to establish a cause of death, given the state of the man's body.

However, it found "no obvious fractures or signs of violence", and no obvious physical injuries.

Toxicology screening found some alcohol in the man's liver, but this could have been a result of "post-mortem changes".

At Thursday's inquest, the man was initially listed only as "unknown male thought to be Marek Jan Moc".

But coroner Sonia Hayes said she was satisfied the deceased man was indeed Mr Moc - based on the passport evidence, the fact Mr Moc was known to be the sole occupant of the flat, and that a car registered to him was parked outside, while the keys were found inside the flat.

Mr Moc's cause of death was listed as "unascertained".

Recording an open conclusion, Ms Hayes said: "Whilst I can't establish a medical cause of death, I am satisfied on the balance of probability there were no suspicious circumstances."

Police have sadly not been able to trace any of Mr Moc's relatives.

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