NO ONE will ever know how a depressed father-of-two who went missing from his Swanwick flat met his death on the verge of a motorway.

An inquest into the death of David Bolton, pictured, heard he most probably died of a heart attack but the results of a post-mortem were inconclusive.

The divorced 61-year-old vanished on March 18 from his Swanwick Lane flat, where he lived alone.

His body was found nearly seven weeks later on a grass verge of the M27 near the Hamble bridge on April 30.

At the time of his disappearance Mr Bolton was depressed after being sacked from his cleaning job at Warsash Maritime Centre, the inquest heard.

He had also started drinking heavily and a few days before going missing was found wandering in the Whiteley area covered in mud and in a confused state.

Seven days later he was reported to the police as missing.

His son Warren, from Hertfordshire, told Portsmouth Coroners' Court his father's health had deteriorated over the last 18 months, causing him to lose weight and become distant.

Mr Bolton had been diagnosed with high blood pressure but had failed to turn up to doctors' appointments, the inquest heard.

"He mentioned he was worried about his health," said his son.

"He had been to the doctor several times to undertake tests but it was difficult to draw out what the outcomes of the tests were."

A post-mortem carried out by Dr Mark Whittaker at Haslar Hospital revealed Mr Bolton had been suffering from heart disease.

Portsmouth and South-East Hampshire Coroner David Horsley recorded an open verdict.

"It is sad we will never know precisely what happened to Mr Bolton and what he was doing next to the motorway," he said.