A MAN who was wanted by Polish police was found dead in a layby after accidentally gassing himself.

Bogdan Polonowski died in his van in a busy layby along the A40, at Forest Hill near Oxford, on Wednesday, February 27.

Oxford Coroner's Court held an inquest for the 59-year-old on Wednesday, where the cause of death was ruled to be carbon monoxide poisoning.

The court heard a worker at a burger van, based in the layby, called police at about 1pm.

He could see Mr Polonowski lying across the front seats in a sleeping bag, and noticed he was pale and unresponsive.

An officer, named in court as PC Eldridge, forced entry and said he could smell petrol and hear a radio 'quietly playing'.

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The fumes were traced to a petrol-powered generator in the back of the van, which was not running when police arrived but the switch was in the 'on' position.

Police initially identified Mr Polonowski as 62-year-old Andrzej Michalik, as that was the name on the ID he was carrying and that his van was registered to.

However, after talking with his wife and son, they discovered that he had changed his name from his real name of Bogdan Polonowski.

When police investigated his real name, they found an active European warrant for his arrest.

Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter said this was 'no doubt the reason for the change in name.'

A detective who spoke in court said 'from memory' he recalled that the warrant was related to a dishonesty offence.

The court heard Mr Polonowski was born in Poland, and adopted a new identity after splitting from his wife in 2010 and moving to England

His wife and their two children joined him in the country and he ended up living with his son, while his wife moved out to live with their daughter.

Mr Polonowski's registered address was in Furzton in Milton Keynes, where he had moved just weeks before, having previously lived in Rugby.

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A statement from his wife Urstula Polonowski, read in court, said: "He said he had legally changed his name.

"I was surprised, but he didn't want to speak about why."

Another statement from their son Dawid Polonowski said: "My dad was a very confusing person. I don't know why he moved to Milton Keynes and I didn't know where or for whom he was working."

His father was described in court as a courier, and items inside his Mercedes Sprinter van suggested he was at least using it to sleep in, if not live in.

Although a post-mortem report noted scars on his arms which might suggest self-harm, the court heard that he had no known history of depression.

Mr Salter said: "There isn't any evidence that there was intent to end his life.

"It seems much more likely that he was sleeping overnight in his van, and the petrol generator powering the heater and other devices and chargers within the van led to carbon monoxide poisoning."

He recorded a verdict of death by accident.