THE mystery of whose body parts were washed up on a Hampshire beach has been solved.

Hampshire police have confirmed the remains found on Weston Shore were those of Christopher Spikesman, who went missing on January 8, 2013.

As reported by the Daily Echo, a stretch of the beach was sealed off by officers on Sunday December 8 last year after a dog walker made the gruesome discovery close to the yacht club.

It is believed Mr Spikesman, 27, jumped from the Itchen Bridge in Southampton in January last year – prompting a huge search by the police and the coastguard.

Now an inquest to determine how he died will be held at Southampton Coroners’ Court this morning.

At the time, police were called to the bridge by worried members of the public who saw a man looking like he was about to jump.

Officers raced to the scene on January 7 last year and spoke to the man, but he jumped and was seen to land in the water and splash around before disappearing from view.

An extensive search was carried out but rescuers were unable to find him, prompting fears he may have drowned.

Sea and shoreline searches were carried out but were also unsuccessful.

‘Troubled’ Police continued with enquiries to find Mr Spikesman, from Languard Road, Shirley, and released photos of him.

At the time friends spoke of him as a “troubled lad” who was good looking and well-liked by the girls Following the discovery earlier this year, detectives were initially unable to say if the body parts were male or female when discovered on Weston Shore and said they were not treating the find as suspicious.

Part of their enquiries included checking local missing persons records.

Mr Spikesman had a number of tattoos on his body, including a number on his arms and the words “Hide from the Sun” on the front of his neck.

A Hampshire Police spokesman said: “The inquest into the death of Christopher Spikesman has come about as a direct result of the body parts found washed up on Weston Shore back in December last year.

“More details concerning the tests and results are expected to be heard at the inquest”.

The hearing will take place in Southampton’s Coroners’ Court this morning.