Mystery surrounds the death of a barman whose body was found washed up on the shore of the River Orwell, an inquest heard.

The body of Andrew Vane, 29, of Seckford Close in Rushmere St Andrew, was found in sand close to Clamp House, near Chelmondiston, on February 4, 2018.

He was seen by colleagues and on CCTV leaving work at Yates’ bar in Tower Street, where he worked as a bar supervisor, at about 1am on Feburary 3 and was due to return for his next shift at 5pm later that day.

When he failed to arrive or answer his phone, staff raised the alarm with his family and a search was launched by Suffolk Constablulary.

Mr Vane’s body was found at about 10.40am on February 4 by an off-duty surgeon while he was out walking.

Described by his family and colleagues as a quiet and reliable man, his mother Wendy Vane said: “It was because he was so reliable that we were alerted to him going missing so quickly.

“He enjoyed the work that he did, first in JD Sports, then in Revolution and lastly in Yates’. We never thought that someone so quiet would want to work in a bar.

“He was a fan of the Star Wars films, Guardians of the Galaxy and playing online games in his room.

“It was only at his funeral we realised how many friends he had - he was loved by his family and friends who have mourned his death every day since.”

At 3.50am on February 3, a phone mast near the Orwell Bridge detected Mr Vane’s phone still functioning in his bag. The phone was found with Mr Vane’s body the following day.

There were also records found in Mr Vane’s bedroom that he had taken out payday loans totalling £15,000 in the months before his death.

However, Mr Vane had made no indications to his family or colleagues that he was contemplating taking his own life and no evidence was found to suggest he intended to do so.

And at an inquest into Mr Vane’s death, coroner Dr Nigel Parsely gave an open conclusion, stressing “there was nothing in the evidence that anything like this was going to happen”.