MYSTERY continues to surround the death of a homeless man whose skull was found in a wooded area, an inquest heard.

A human skull was found on land off Shopland Road, in Rochford, in September, 2017, and a number of bones were uncovered in a similar location in August last year.

A large police operation was set up in the area as forensic officers attempted to collect potential evidence from the scene.

Forensic tents were also put in place for a number of hours.

A large cordon, police dogs and a forensic tent were in place for a number of hours.

After forensic testing, police were able to identify that the bones belonged to Steven Drummond, a man in his 50s, who was originally from Glasgow.

Essex Police launched an appeal for information in a bid to bring some closure to Mr Drummond’s family and his death was treated as unexplained.

Mr Drummond was believed to have been homeless around the Shopland area of Rochford before his death.

An inquest to determine the circumstances surrounding his death was held last week at the coroner’s court in Chelmsford.

But medical examiners were unable to determine a cause of death due to the level of decomposition.

A post-mortem examination was also inconclusive.

Coroner’s officer Linda Calder said: “It is known he had been living rough for some time and had links to the Manchester and Kent areas but no connection to Essex.

“The farmer who owns the land stated he had had homeless people living there, often in tents.”

Senior coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray reached an open conclusion and asked for her sympathy to be passed on to Mr Drummond’s three daughters.

His death was being investigated by Essex Police’s Serious Crime Directorate as detectives worked to determine his movements before his death in 2017.

However, after the conclusion of the inquest, Essex Police have now confirmed the investigation has been discontinued.

A spokesman for the force said on Friday: “Steven Drummond’s death remains unascertained and the police investigation has now concluded.”