Inquiry into 'sex game' after death of BBC host

Inquest to find cause of 'unexplained' death as belt and bag are taken for tests

(PA)

Police are investigating whether the daytime BBC presenter Kristian Digby accidentally killed himself during a solo sex act which went wrong.

Digby, 32, was found dead at his home in Newham, east London, at 8am on Monday by a friend. It is thought he died after starving himself of oxygen to heighten his sexual arousal. Police said they were treating the death as "unexplained" and sources said that a belt and a bag – commonly used to achieve the desired effect of auto-erotic asphyxiation – were removed from the house for forensic tests.

A post-mortem examination carried out yesterday proved inconclusive, meaning it is likely that an official cause of death will not be established until an inquest, which will be opened and adjourned this week, is completed.

Last night family and colleagues of the property expert, who had worked on television shows including Double Agents and Buy It, Sell It, Bank It?, paid tribute. In a statement his relatives said: "The family are saddened and in a state of shock at the loss of Kristian, who they loved very much."