THE death of a mystery man found dead in his kayak on a beach is being treated as a potential suicide.

But officers investigating his demise have not ruled out the possibility the unidentified man cut himself after being "driven to distraction" suffering from hypothermia.

Police are also now looking at mocking up a posthumous portrait of the man to help jog memories and improve on yesterday's fuzzy CCTV images after a suggestion to do so by The Argus.

Aged between his mid 20s and mid 30s, he was last seen in Newhaven at a shop called Brighton Canoes at about 4pm on September 8, where he paid cash for the 20KG inflatable yellow and black Sevylor Conrad kayak as well as paddles and a pump.

He was washed up on Yaverland Beach in Sandown on the Isle of Wight two weeks ago and was found by a couple who were walking their dog on the beach at 7.20pm and noticed the kayak and body floating in the shallows.

Among other clues that could help map his last moments was a packet of Asda custard creams found in his backpack. The nearest Asda stores to Newhaven are in Brighton, Hailsham and Eastbourne.

Detective Inspector John Stirling of the Isle of Wight CID told The Argus: "We have trawled CCTV in Newhaven but haven't been able to identify him. We do get bodies washed up on the island but it's very unusual that they are not identified quickly."

DI Stirling ruled out the possibility that he was a fugitive from Lewes Prison: "He does not match anyone who is reported missing and his fingerprints are not on any database."

Police have held off of carrying out a post mortem on him because they do not know who he is.

DI Stirling added: "We are treating it as a potential suicide, though we can't say for definite. There's nothing to indicate that it was murder.

"It's very difficult to get into his mind. The cuts could have come from someone who was driven to distraction after suffering hypothermia."

The man is white with dark hair, blue eyes and was described as having "nice teeth". He is also described as “well built” and was wearing beige shorts and a blue zip-up jacket. He is believed to have had an Irish accent.

If you have any information, call 101 (Hampshire) and ask for Newport CID, quoting 44150315983.