A MAN whose body was found in woodland at Crewe Hall had been "laughing and joking" when he was last seen by relatives, an inquest heard.

Tree surgeons working at the Weston Road hotel discovered the body of Josef Skrdlant, 51, on March 11 this year, nearly three weeks after he went missing from his Crewe home.

Mr Skrdlant's nephew, Emil Puzo, said in a statement read out to the Warrington hearing today that he last saw his uncle on February 19. He told him he was going out for a walk and that he would be back in 15 minutes.

But Mr Skrdlant failed to return to the property he shared with his wife, Mr Puzo and other relatives at Probert Close.

The inquest heard that Mr Skrlandt had returned to live in Crewe two days before he went missing in February this year after struggling to find work in Birmingham, which led to him being evicted by his landlord.

In summer 2020 he quit his job at the Bakkavor factory in Aston to move to the West Midlands as he found working 12-hour shifts "too tiring".

Mr Puzo said: "When I last saw Josef was happy and laughing. He was making jokes and said he was going out for a walk.

"He had no debt, other then being evicted, and he was excited to return to Crewe. He loved Crewe and working at Bakkavor.

"It was extremely out of character the way he ended his life because he was scared of death and afraid of pain."

His nephew said that Mr Skrdlant was a regular drinker of strong Polish beer, but he also exercised and he added: "He never expressed thoughts about self-harming or had been diagnosed with a mental health issue."

Mr Skrdlant's disappearance sparked a missing person's operation by Cheshire Police, who called in the regional underwater search team to scour the lake at Queens Park.

The inquest heard there were two sightings of the Czech father-of-three. On the day he went missing, he was seen by Joan Morris near Queens Park.

She said in a statement she spotted a short man wearing a dark top, whom she recognised from the photograph police put out with their appeal.

"He tilted his head to acknowledge me, but he didn't say anything as he walked past the golf course and out of sight," she said.

Jonathan Beansley crossed paths with the missing man as he walked through Joey the Swan towards Church Lane in Wistaston several days later.

"My attention was drawn to him because of his small stature when he was close to me," said Mr Beansley, who said he had to stop on the pavement to allow Mr Skrdlant to pass with social distancing in mind.

"I became aware of a missing man on March 1 when I saw a Facebook post and I knew he was the same man I'd seen at Joey the Swan," he said.

Mr Skrdlant's body was located by workmen at Crewe Hall on the morning of March 11. PC Alexandra Daniels said items confirming his identity were found in a green wallet in his pocket.

Forensic pathologist Phillipa Wood reported there was no traces of drugs or alcohol in Mr Skrdlant's body.

A post-mortem examination at Leighton Hospital concluded the cause of death was hanging.

Det. Sgt Tom Vass, in a statement, said he did not believe there were any suspicious circumstances.

Senior Coroner for Cheshire Alan Moore concluded that Mr Skrdlant took his own life.

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