HE was known as a loner and an "introvert". Those who noticed Peter Mason at all knew him as a homeless man who carried his worldly goods in plastic bags.

His links with the world were so few his body is thought to have lain undis-covered for an astonishing seven years after his death.

The skeletal remains of 56-year-old Mr Mason were found covered by a sleeping bag in a makeshift den on Ballard Down, Swanage, in March. Lengthy inquiries and a DNA test finally established his identity.

Clues explained at an inquest yesterday indicated he could have died as long ago as 1998 or 1999.

The grim discovery was made by Roland Hughes, a National Trust warden, as work was being carried out to clear away dense gorse on the down.

He found a tarpaulin covering a "sophisticated" camp. Wires had been strung up to support the cover, a bed had been dug into the ground and there was a car battery, possibly for electricity, and a camp stove.

There were holdalls containing electrical equipment. Police also found a passport containing part of Mr Mason's date of birth, December 1948; a driving licence giving a Birmingham address; a Swanage TV shop receipt dated January 15, 1996; English and French cash; a French calendar for 1993 and a packet of oats with a sell-by date in 1999.

DC Jon McCarthy of Ferndown CID told the inquest: "There was nothing suspicious at the scene. The body had been there for years."

DC McCarthy's investigations found that Mr Mason visited a GP at Swanage Medical Practice on July 6 1998, complaining of stomach pain. He went to hospital on July 15 for treatment and that was the last positive sighting of him.

James Bird, manager of NatWest, Swanage, said Mr Mason opened an account in November 1992 and made the last withdrawal, of £250, in October 1998.

Mr Mason's sister, Joy Chester, told the inquest she had last spoken to her brother in 1990. She said he had been an apprentice engineer and trained as a draftsman. In the 1970s and 80s he lived and worked in Birmingham between periods living in South Africa.

When she last saw her brother, Mrs Chester thought he might have been suffering from depression.

In 1992 Mrs Chester contacted the National Missing Persons Helpline. It wasn't until May last year they informed her he might be living in the West Country, registered with a doctor.

She said: "He was introverted. You didn't get too close. He was a loner."

In a statement read to the hearing, Jane Viney, of nearby Whitecliff Manor, said she used to see a homeless man walking on the downs carrying plastic bags. She said she last saw him a year or two ago.

A post mortem examination, carried out by Dr Mark Deverell, said there were no unnatural injuries and he could not ascertain a cause of death.

Coroner Sheriff Payne said Mr Mason could have been described as "fairly introverted".

He added that Mrs Viney's last believed sighting of Mr Mason may have been an "underestimate".

He recorded an open verdict.

First published: August 17, 2005