A MAN who was found dead in a Dorset holiday park lake has been named in an inquest opening.

Dorset Police launched a murder probe after the 78-year-old was pulled from Heron Lake at Warmwell Holiday Park in Dorchester.

Michael Victor Hadfield was on holiday with his family in the Dorset resort before he was sadly found in the early hours of June 23.

Senior coroner for Dorset, Racheal Griffin, opened the inquest into his death at Bournemouth Town Hall on July 4.

Coroner’s officer, Matt Cave, told Dorset Coroner’s Court that Michael was born in Birmingham and was living in Sutton Coldfield at the time of his death.

Michael was divorced and a retired paint sprayer.

On the evening of June 22 Michael was on holiday in the Parkdean resort when he decided to go on a walk.

At 12.27am on June 23 Dorset Police received a report raising concern for the welfare of a man believed to be in the lake.

Emergency services attended and with assistance from the fire service Michael was recovered from the water.

At 1.53am Michael was pronounced dead and he was formally identified by CCTV footage and photographs.

A postmortem examination by Dr Purdue found his provisional cause of death to be drowning.

Ms Griffin adjourned the hearing for a pre-inquest review on November 22 at 11am.

Following the incident, a man and a woman both aged in their 50s and from Birmingham, were arrested on suspicion of murder, with the woman also arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

They were both subsequently released under investigation as detectives from Dorset Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT) carry out further enquiries.

Dorset Police have confirmed that the pair remain under investigation and that the investigation continues.

Detective inspector Shaun Inkpen, of Dorset Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team, previously said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who sadly died, and we have launched a full investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the death.”

He added: “I am keen to hear from anyone who witnessed or heard anything suspicious in the area during the evening of Saturday, June 22, into the early hours of Sunday, June 23, 2024.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55240094346. Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.