A jeweller who expanded the south east of the county to open a shop in Oxford’s Turl Street died at his Henley store, Oxford Coroner’s Court heard.

Married man David Rodger Sharp, 39, of Peppard Common, was found dead at the jeweller’s shop that bore his name in Market Place, Henley, on October 8.

His death was confirmed by a paramedic and his body was identified to police officers at the scene by a friend.

Opening his inquest, senior coroner for Oxfordshire Darren Salter said a post-mortem had been carried out and a pathologist had given the cause of Mr Rodger Sharp’s death as asphyxiation.

A full inquest will be held on March 13 next year.

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Held by a coroner after sudden, unexpected or non-natural deaths, the purpose of an inquest is to establish a person’s identity and how they died.

Tributes were paid to jeweller and businessman Mr Rodger Sharp following his death.

His town mayor, Kellie Hinton, told the Henley Standard: “David was an amazing young man who went above and beyond to integrate into and serve the community from the moment he arrived.”

She added: “A lot of things he did were under the radar but he was constantly donating and sponsoring things.”