Investigations into the death of a farmhand killed in a caravan fire, the coroner’s court heard.

David Goddard, 67, died when the caravan in which he lived at a farmstead off Woodstock Road, Witney, was destroyed by a fire on February 16.

Opening his inquest at Oxford Coroner’s Court on Wednesday (March 15), senior coroner Darren Salter said: “His cause of death is currently pending further analysis following post-mortem examination and there is an ongoing investigation into the cause of the fire.”

Mr Salter said Mr Goddard was identified earlier this month by DNA analysis.

The case was adjourned until October 4 for a full inquest.

An online fundraiser has been set up to purchase a bench in Mr Goddard’s memory.

Writing on the GoFundMe web page, friends described him as 'a great character'.

One said: “I've known him for 35 years, we would go for beers. He's just a good old boy.

"Dave was a local celebrity, everyone knew him. He talked to everyone, he was just a really nice, popular guy.”

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said the investigation into Mr Goddard’s death was ongoing.

“We would continue to appeal to anybody who has information and has not yet made contact with Thames Valley Police to do so via 101 or the website, quoting reference 43230072790,” he added.