A close friend of a university student found dead in Surbiton last week has paid tribute to her "soul-mate" and "important and meaningful friend".

The body of Viktor Ivanelo was discovered under a railway arch in Surbiton in the Victoria Recreation Ground on Tuesday, March 28.

The 21-year-old University of Surrey student had disappeared in mysterious circumstances after leaving a friend's house in Esher more than a month ago on February 26.

The student's phone, keys, earphones and bag were among belongings found along a bridleway by a horse rider in Chessington the day after he disappeared.

His family had also hired a private detective to help with the search.

Surrey Comet:

Mr Ivanelo had been missing for more than a month after disappearing on February 26

Yao Tian, a close friend of Mr Ivanelo's, paid tribute to her "soul-mate" as bunches of flowers were left my friends at the spot where his body was discovered.

She said: "Viktor is an important and meaningful friend of mine. His departure is absolutely a heavy strike to me.

"Words are too dull, only a bleeding heart inside and I can clearly feel the pain every single second.

"I cannot stop looking at the chat and pictures that we sent to each other before, they remain warm and fresh, yet his last seen is eternally stopped at 26/02/2017.

"He was a talented, independent, humorous, emotional, kind, well-manner young and strong-willed man who’s a bit over-confident and childish sometimes.

"He hated me when I say so. He will be angry. And he well-organized a blueprint for his own future.

"He felt alone most of the time as his emotion and thinking can only be understood by a minority of people.

"We were culturally different but somehow we felt that we can understand each other’s heart and felt like we were similar.

"He was my soul mate in this university but now is gone forever."

Surrey Comet:

Forensics at the spot where Mr Ivanelo's body was discovered last week

Miss Tian, a fellow student at the University of Surrey, said her friend's death  was "unbelievable and unacceptable".

Last week, Mr Ivanelo's father Valeriy, who lives in south London, said the family were "deeply shocked by what has happened".

He was spotted on CCTV travelling to Claygate from Clapham Junction station the day before his disappearance but officers said not a "single sighting" of the student was reported.

Teams from Surrey Search and Rescue had been involved in the search along with police dogs, drones and helicopters.

Bunches of flowers were left at against the iron railings near where Mr Ivanelo was found.

One tribute said: "To Viktor and his family, we have been praying for a good outcome, we are so sad for all of you. With our prayers and love, Jean, John, June, Meli, Seamus, Kim, Matthew and Holly."

Surrey Comet:

Surrey Comet:

Tributes left at the spot where Mr Ivanelo's body was found in Surbiton

A Surrey Police spokeswoman said last week that a post-mortem examination was due to take place in the next few days after Mr Ivanelo's body was discovered, but today said formal identification was yet to be completed.