THE death of a man hours after he was charged and released by Hampshire police will be investigated by the police watchdog.

Robert Beazley, 22, was found at Lymington fire station on Friday morning after being reported missing.

Mr Beazley, who was a retained firefighter at the station, had been released from custody at nearby Lyndhurst police station just hours earlier at midnight. He had been charged with assault.

Police responding to the missing person report spotted his car at the fire station at 5.50am. Mr Beazley was pronounced dead 15 minutes later.

Hampshire Police referred the incident to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) as a death following police contact.

IPCC spokesman David Petch said the inquiry should be carried out by the IPCC's own investigators.

He said: ''We will examine why he was arrested, the period he was in custody and whether procedures were followed.

''We will not prejudge anything but seek to build up an accurate picture of what happened and make a report to HM Coroner to assist him with the inquest.''

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said today Mr Beazley had been a firefighter at Lymington for two-and-a-half years.

The service has been offering support to his family as well as colleagues.

Chief Officer John Bonney said: ''Our thoughts are with Rob's family and his colleagues at Lymington Fire Station. His death is a huge loss to his family as well as Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, and the community he served.''