A man froze to death inside the undercarriage of a plane at Gatwick Airport, an inquest has heard.

The man, who had no documents and has not been identified, was found inside a TUI flight from The Gambia in western Africa.

Aircraft engineers performing checks on the plane found the man on December 7 last year.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, with a post-mortem confirming the man had died from hypothermia.

Temperatures in the hold of an aircraft onboard a long-haul flight can drop to as low as -60C.

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The flight had travelled from Banjul, the capital of the Gambia, to the Sussex airport.

No name, date of birth or address has been established for the man, with Sussex Police working with Gambian authorities to discover his identity.

Coroner Joanne Andrews told the hearing in Chichester: “I am satisfied the death was unnatural and there will be an inquest.”

After the body was discovered, a Gambian government spokesman said: “According to the information, the deceased black male was found within the wheel bay of the aircraft without identification documents to establish his name, age, nationality or travel itinerary.

“It is, therefore, not clear at this stage, who he is.”

A full inquest will be heard in Chichester on May 24.