ACROBAT Jaroslaw Bodo dreamt all his life of the bright lights and glamour of the travelling circus, an inquest at Harrogate Matistrates' Court heard, yesterday.

He ran away from his native Poland, joined a Dutch State Circus troupe and tried to make it as a tumbler in the Big Top.

But, when after just two weeks, he was fired and found himself alone in North Yorkshire, he drank a bottle of white rum, made his way to a lonely wood and hanged himself.

His hopes of life as an entertainer ended in suicide thousands of miles from home, the inquest was told.

Next to his body were found personal possessions, including a cheap watch and a handful of coins.

The aspiring performer, who had separated from his wife and left his home on the outskirts of Warsaw, had joined a troupe of trainee acrobats who were part of a show touring Britain.

But, seemingly unable to forget his personal problems, 37-year-old Mr Bodo persistently angered his bosses with his heavy drinking.

The situation came to a head on September 13 last year, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Mr Bodo was given his fare to Poland as the circus prepared to move on to Liverpool without him.

Compatriot Piotr Spychalski accompanied the depressed Mr Bodo to Harrogate bus station, but took him back to the circus after deciding he needed a wash before travelling.

It was then that Mr Bodo vanished. He was last seen alive by two police officers at The Stray, close to the site where he had given his last performance. He appeared to be drunk, but as he was doing no harm, he was left alone.

His body was found six weeks later in woods at Bilton, Harrogate, by a man looking for a missing cat.

Detective Sergeant Stuart Thompson, who investigated the disappearance, said: "I have brought together evidence about this man from across Europe, but I still don't know what pushed him to an awful death, alone in a foreign country."

Coroner Geoff Fell recorded a suicide verdict.

Mr Bodo's parents asked for their son's body to be cremated. His ashes are at Stonefall, near The Stray, in Harrogate, where he last heard the cheers of an audience