THE mystery surrounding an urn found at a Hampshire beauty spot has finally been solved.

The urn, which had contained the ashes of Roderick Jones, was discovered at Blashford Lakes, near Ringwood, four months ago, and police launched an international search for his relatives.

Now officers have been told that his next of kin scattered his ashes at a Second World War airfield and then hid the urn.

It is contained in an e-mail from his sister, who has not been identified, and says someone must have found the container and taken it to the lakes.

The airfield is thought to be nearby RAF Ibsley, used by British and American airmen between 1941 and 1947.

Ibsley appears in the 1942 film, The First of the Few, which tells how R J Mitchell designed the Spitfire.

It is not known if Mr Jones served at the airfield or had another connection with the base.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the urn was found on February 13 and handed in to Ian Hunt, enquiry officer at Ringwood police station, pictured above.

The only clue was an inscription on the side that gave Mr Jones’s full name and his date of death – September 2, 2007.

Police established that he was cremated in the Spanish city of Cartagena and attempted to track down his relatives.