THE body of a man washed up on a Hampshire beach last week has been identified by police.

He was as missing Southbourne man Aaron Fiveash, 36, who went missing on Sunday, January 5, when he was in a distressed state.

He jumped naked out of his bedroom window and his disappearance sparked a major land and sea search.

But Dorset Police has now confirmed that a man’s body that washed up on Southsea seafront last Tuesday was Aaron. The news is a massive blow to his distraught family, who last week told the Echo they were clinging to the hope he was still alive.

Aaron’s disappearance was described as “completely out of character” but his mother Maureen said he was suffering panic attacks on the weekend he ran away.

A statement from Dorset Police said: “It has now been confirmed that he was found dead on Tuesday 29 January 2014 on Southsea Beach in Hampshire. Next of kin have been informed and the Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Coroner has been notified.”