A former regional daily photographer was found dead in a state of “advanced decomposition” in the caravan where he lived, an inquest has heard.

Richard Taylor, who led the picture desk at Brighton daily The Argus for 10 years, had been dead “for some time” when his body was found on 20 September last year.

An open verdict was recorded by Penelope Schofield, senior coroner for West Sussex, at a documentary inquest in Crawley after a post-mortem examination could not ascertain a cause of death.

According to the Chichester Observer, the inquest heard that Richard, pictured, was known to drink regularly and had started living in a caravan at Lakeside Holiday Park, in Chichester, in October 2016 after being homeless for a short time.

Staff at the park would give him food and the last known time he was spoken to was in April 2017, when he complained to an ex-partner about a chest infection.

A statement read out by the coroner’s officer stated: “The electricity bill for the caravan wasn’t paid, causing the electric to be disconnected in June 2017.

“Concerns were raised by the family of Mr Taylor that no checks were made on his welfare.

“As this was a holiday park, owners were not allowed to live in the caravans permanently so an outstanding bill would have been sent to the owner’s permanent recorded address, with the park assuming the owner may be away from the caravan.”

Originally from Yorkshire, Richard had worked at the Scarborough News, when it was still a daily, and the Plymouth Herald.

He led The Argus picture desk between 1997 and 2007, and then worked on a casual basis for the Metro before returning to Brighton for a short period in November 2015.

In court, his age was listed as 60.

The inquest heard there was a “spiral” in his drinking after his mother died in 2016.

Police confirmed his death after a call from one of his neighbours, who had not seen him in a month, and staff who attended found him in a state of “advanced decomposition”.

A spokesman for park owner Park Holidays UK told the Observer: “Park Holidays UK extends it sympathies to the relatives of the gentleman whose body was recovered on September 20 from a holiday home on the park.”