A raincoat worn by transexual Bryan Hooley may hold the key to his killing.

Murder squad detectives are keen to trace the whereabouts of the calf-length raincoat Mr Hooley was wearing when he was last seen alive.

They set up a mobile police station on the car park outside Roxwell Village Hall, near Chelmsford, which was open yesterday between 9am and 5pm, hoping people in the area would come forward with information.

Detectives have already received reports of eight sightings of Mr Hooley during February 23 and 29 - a few days before his naked body was found washed up on Kessingland Beach, Suffolk.

Four of those are in Chelmsford town centre and four near his home in St Michael's Drive in Roxwell, near Chelmsford.

Det Supt Adrian Braddy, of Suffolk Police, who is leading the murder investigation, said yesterday: "All those who reported these sightings have said Bryan was wearing his calf-length raincoat which is missing from his home.

"I am asking people in the Chelmsford area to focus on this coat, cast their minds back to the week between February 23 and 29 and ask themselves whether they could have seen Bryan.

"It might help people to know the first three days of this period were in the half-term break for local schools. I would also ask anyone who finds a discarded coat similar to this one to get in touch.

"It could prove extremely important in moving our investigation forward and shedding some light on where Bryan was during the last days of his life."

Mr Hooley's naked body was found washed up on March 2. His body was weighted down with a length of chain, gym weights and padlocks. A similar weight was found last week below cliffs at Covehithe, just south of Kessingland.

A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Hooley, 28, died after being hit in the face and head with a flat object then dumped in the sea.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 01986 835144 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111

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