HE shunned the comforts and the stresses of modern life for an alternative lifestyle in the Hamsphire countryside.

Living beneath a tarpaulin deep in the New Forest woods, Albert Van Beest relied only on the basics for cooking and sleeping in his makeshift home.

Little was known about the 73-year-old as occasional passers-by from nearby Pennington said he was reluctant to talk about his past.

Now that will forever remain a mystery.

After Mr Van Beest died of a heart attack in Lyming-ton, police were baffled as to his background and tried for months to delve in to his history in an attempt to trace members of his family.

Although they uncovered bits of information about his life, some 50 years remained unaccounted for and it was still unclear where he had come from.

Known locally as Yan, he was described as well educated with a talent for water painting and a love of nature.

Although he had been living in his temporary home for two years, he was often unwilling to say where he had come from or why he was there.

After his death on Lodge Road in June PC Simon Walters of Lymington police spent hours researching his background.

He found out that Mr Van Beest had been brought up in Somerset and had completed national service at RAF Odiham in the late 1940s.

It is thought that prior to the New Forest he was living rough near the South-bourne area of Bourne-mouth.

At an inquest to determine his true identity and cause of death coroner Gordon Denson said: "He appears to have been well liked which is unusual for someone living this lifestyle.

"Sadly, due to his own reticence to talk about his past, we will never know the full story of his life."

Verdict: death due to natural causes."