Briton murdered in Kiev

A missing British engineer has been found murdered in Ukraine. The body of father-of-three Kieran Downes was discovered badly decomposed with his hands tied behind his back.

His family hired a private detective to find him after he stopped calling them from a property he was developing in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

The detective travelled to Russia and five weeks later traced him to a flat in Kiev.

Police were called in and the body of divorced Mr Downes, 42, who had travelled extensively in the US and eastern Europe, was found inside.

His body has been flown back to Salisbury.

Wiltshire police are now liaising with Ukrainian authorities on a murder investigation.

His parents, George and Mary Downes, from Salisbury, said: "The circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear."

An inquest has been opened and adjourned.