MYSTERY surrounds the death of a retired businessman found collapsed in a street after he went missing from home.

Kennedy Dinsmore, of Cotherstone, County Durham, was found collapsed and complaining of chest pains in Angle Court, Middlesbrough, on Friday. He was taken to Middlesbrough General Hospital, where he died soon afterwards.

Because Mr Dinsmore had no identification, police were unaware it was the body of the missing pensioner until Monday, when he was identified by relatives.

It is still not known how the 70-year-old, who suffered from acute angina, came to be in Middlesbrough, but police are not treating his death as suspicious.

Hours before his collapse, Mr Dinsmore had kept a dental appointment, but had failed to turn up for an appointment at Teesdale Sports Centre, in Barnard Castle, on Friday morning.

On Sunday, his wife Ruth had made an emotional appeal for his return, saying it was out of character for her husband to go anywhere without telling her.

Mr Dinsmore was a well-known figure in Teesdale, and ran several clothes shops before retiring.

Police will announce a date for an inquest in the next few days.