AN inquest was opened and adjourned into the death of a man whose body was found in the River Medway 24 days after he went missing.

The body of clubber Christopher Lawless was recovered from the river at Cuxton Marina, Rochester, on Tuesday morning.

North Kent coroner Roger Sykes was told that a post mortem examination on Wednesday revealed Mr Lawless died from drowning.

Mr Lawless disappeared after an evening out at Amadeus nightclub, Strood, on Saturday, 23 February. The father-of-two from Mottingham, SE London, had not been seen or heard from since.

Police are not treating the death as suspicious.

Mr Lawless’ family said they were too upset to talk. The date for the full inquest has not yet been set.