A man whose mysterious death touched the island community where he apparently chose to die was yesterday laid to

rest.

Insurance worker Christopher Gray, 56, from Crowborough, was found 16 months ago on a remote area of the Isle of Skye but his body remained unidentified until a few weeks ago.

His daughter Deborah managed to trace Mr Gray's whereabouts on the day before he was to be buried by local church members.

Yesterday, Mr Gray's family gathered with community members at Kilbeg cemetery, near to where the body was found in October 2001.

Police said two walkers had found the decomposed body under black bin bags on coastline near the village of Armadale.

With no identifying documents on his person and no suspicious cause of death, it appeared as if the underwriter had chosen to die there, police said.

It is understood Mr Gray, who was divorced with two children, had not been in frequent contact with his family before his disappearance.

The Reverend John Murdo Nicolson, who led the service, said the family had agreed with local residents had felt it appropriate that Mr Gray was buried on the island.

He said: "It was a Christian burial and a family burial.

"One of the local councillors felt very strongly that Christopher should be buried here where he died."

Police in England had been probing Mr Gray's disappearance earlier in 2001 but broke off the search after transactions on his credit and bank cards appeared in various spots across Scotland.

A Northern Constabulary spokeswoman said there had been considerable concern for Mr Gray but the unusual circumstances of the case made it difficult for officers to tie up his disappearance with the discovery of the body.

She said: "His employers raised the matter with police but because his credit cards were showing up in Scotland it was believed he had just gone on a long holiday so he was taken off the missing persons register."

After the body was found, despite months of investigations by police, including national media appeals, there was still no clue as to the identity of the dead man.

Mr Gray's daughter, who had recently returned from living abroad, contacted police just as local residents were preparing to give a funeral for the man.

The police spokeswoman said: "She contacted us on Thursday and he was due to be buried the next day.

"It was the people of Skye who had initially decided he should be buried locally.

"It is a small community and they felt they had responsibility for him as he had obviously chosen that as his last resting place."