A coroner's inquest into determining how an unidentified person discovered floating in the sea just off Tenby's St. Margaret's Island over three years ago died, was held this week in Milford Haven.

At the inquest, Pembrokeshire coroner's officer, PC Jeremy Davies, explained the lengths that the investigation had gone to trying to identify the body which was recovered off Lydstep beach on March 14, 2003, after being found by a group of local people out fishing.

"The body was badly decomposed, so identification was the main issue," said PC Davies. After taking fingerprints and DNA samples, the inquiry led police through the process of contacting the Missing Persons Bureau and the National Database in getting the DNA checked out across the UK, Southern Ireland and also through Interpol. "Despite a huge inquiry, where we have done everything possible we could do, the body still remains unidentified," explained PC Davies. Pembrokeshire coroner, Michael Howells, delivered a verdict that the person died from 'unascertained causes from unascertained circumstances'.