THE death of a Hampshire man whose body was found in a stream weeks after he was attacked on a city estate will be examined by a coroner tomorrow.

Shawn Williams suffered horrific head injuries when he was set upon by a gang as he walked through the Northam area of Southampton last July.

The 6ft 5in man was jumped from behind and savagely beaten up as he was robbed.

But no one has yet been brought to justice for the death of the 42-year-old, who was nicknamed the “gentle giant”.

The inquest at Southampton Coroner’s Court was opened last November, but adjourned pending further police enquiries.

As part of their investigation, codenamed Operation Savannah, detectives hunting Shawn’s killers called at the homes of more than 600 residents on the estate, sifted through hours of CCTV footage and made public appeals in six different languages.

They also tried a nationwide appeal through BBC’s Crimewatch programme.

In October, police arrested eight youths and a 21-year-old man in connection with the death of Mr Williams, who was known to his family as Simon.

But when they answered bail in December they were all told they were being released without charge.

Shawn was attacked in Princes Court on July 3, last year, as he walked through the area from his home in Woolston.

His rucksack was stolen, but later found discarded nearby.

He managed to stagger to a busy road where a passer-by, who found him covered in blood, came to his aid and he was taken to Southampton General Hospital. Ambulance service officials called the police to report the assault, but Mr Williams discharged himself from hospital hours later.

His decomposing body was found a short distance away in woodland off Springford Road, Coxford, more than two weeks after the attack, on July 20.

It is believed he had collapsed from his injuries.

At the earlier hearing, Southampton coroner Keith Wiseman said the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem “found it quite difficult” because of the length of time after Mr Williams had died.