British tourist, 37, is found dead in a drain after being separated from his family during holiday to Phuket

A British tourist has been found dead in a drain in Thailand after going missing during a family holiday.

Fraser Wright, 37, left his family and went out drinking alone on the popular island of Phuket on Tuesday night. His relatives said he was last seen around 10 p.m.

The next morning around 9am, shocked locals noticed a body floating in the shallow water used to transport rainwater from storms to the sea.

Police and ambulance personnel arrived on the scene, but the man turned out to be dead.

Captain Phongsathorn Phothong of Patong District Police Station said a report was received at 9.30am.

Officers attended the scene along with rescuers and paramedics before the area, near a motorcycle shop, was cordoned off.

They discovered the body floating in the water in the drainage ditch, which is surrounded by a metal guardrail.

Officers assume the man had been dead for five to six hours.

Fraser Wright, 37, left his family and went out drinking alone on the popular island of Phuket

Police and paramedics arrived on the scene, but the man was found dead

Police and paramedics arrived on the scene, but the man was found dead

Shocked locals spotted the body floating face down in the shallow water at around 9am this morning

Shocked locals spotted the body floating face down in the shallow water at around 9am this morning

Police Captain Phongsathorn said: “We have sent the tourist’s body to Vachira Phuket Hospital for a thorough autopsy to determine the cause of death before handing it over to his family for religious ceremonies.

“We checked the security camera and found that no one attacked him.

“He walked into the drainage ditch by himself around 4am and didn’t tell his family.

‘I received a report from a resident about the discovery of the body before I informed his family.

“We currently need to conduct further investigations to determine the cause, while I do not know when the autopsy will be completed.”