The body of a man, who had been missing for 14 years, has been identified thanks to a old rusty key.

A dog-walker found human bones in Burpham, West Sussex, in February 2012 but police initially had no idea who they belonged to.

But the mystery owner has now been identified as Battersea resident Carl Johnston, who would have been 67 when he was discovered.

Police identified the bones as belonging to Mr Johnston thanks mainly to clever scientific techniques but also through basic hard graft.

A shoulder bag found nearby the bones contained a few personal items including reading glasses which were missing the lenses, a wrist watch and three old keys.

Scenes of crimes officers used acetone to clean the rust from the keys and one revealed a serial number.

Police went on to link this number to the door it fitted.

Detective Constable Alison Hoad contacted Missing Persons Bureau and one person was registered with links to this address and also West Sussex who had been missing since 1999 - Mr Johnston.

She then visited the family of Mr Johnston, who lived in Thessaly Road, Battersea, who confirmed that he had not been seen for 14 years.

The body was subsequently identified as his, and an inquest recently recorded an open verdict, bringing a close to 14 years of uncertainty for his family.

Scenes of Crime Officer Chris Gee described the mystery as a "jigsaw puzzle".

He said: "The forensic service provider perormed a basic DNA comparison with the deceased’s relative, and came to the conclusion that there was a one in 40 chance of them being related.

"During the post-mortem at the beginning of the investigation, the forensic anthropologist gave an indication towards the age the person was when they died.

"But no cause of death could be determined."

The coroner at West Sussex Coroner's Court was happy that no further work was needed and the family were notified of all findings.

Mr Gee added: "Det Con Hoad set a fantastic example of how persistence and attention to the finer detail can really pay off.

"Everyone else had overlooked the keys, but our two minds made this cold case heat up.

"I’m really pleased we could present our findings to the family and offer them their relative back, someone they had lost for so long."