A MAN whose body was found on a North-East industrial estate on Christmas Day was last night named by police.

The body of Kevin Oswald Smith was found on the Salters Lane Industrial Estate, Sedgefield, County Durham, on Tuesday afternoon.

The 54-year-old lived in Cunningham Court, Sedgefield, a new development close to the industrial estate.

It is understood Mr Smith lived alone and is not believed to have any close family in the area.

Neighbours on the estate, which was completed last month, did not know him well.

When Mr Smith's body was discovered, he was wearing just a T-shirt, jeans and slippers, clothing unsuitable for the cold weather.

A neighbour is said to have seen Mr Smith leave his home at about 12.30am on Christmas Day, when temperatures were near freezing.

Detectives were last night still trying to piece together what happened between then and 3.15pm, when a man walking his dog around the industrial estate made the grim discovery.

A post-mortem examination was carried out on Wednesday, at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

An inquest into Mr Smith's death was opened and adjourned by County Durham and Darlington coroner Andrew Tweddle at his office in Elliot Street, Crook, County Durham, yesterday afternoon.

The hearing will be reopened on a date to be announced.

Police said the circumstances surrounding Mr Smith's death were still being investigated, but stressed his death was not being treated as suspicious.

Anyone who knows Mr Smith's movements in the hours before his death is asked to call police at Newton Aycliffe police station on 0845-60-60-365.