Thai police seek man after British backpacker's death

The father of a young British woman found dead in a Bangkok hotel described yesterday how she had set off in highspirits for "an adventure of a lifetime" after splitting with a long-term boyfriend.

William Nixon said his 26-year-old daughter, Jayne, did not think twice about travelling alone when she left for a round-the-world trip last Monday, and knew the risks involved.

She was found dead and naked by a housekeeper at a backpackers' hotel on Saturday. Ms Nixon had checked in the day before with a man who has since disappeared.

Thai police said Ms Nixon had suffered no injuries and there were no signs of a struggle in the room at the Nakhorn Pink Hotel in Banglamphu, a backpackers' district.

Police want to question the missing man, but are understood to consider foul play unlikely and are exploring the possibility of a fatal drugs overdose. Ms Nixon was takento Ramathibodi hospital, where a post-mortem examination has been conducted. More tests are needed.

Ms Nixon gave up her job as a legal secretary and sold the house she shared with Nick Hayes, her boyfriend of six years, to make the trip.

Her father said she had planned to stop in Thailand for a few weeks before going on to Australia and New Zealand, and had not been expected home for several months.

"She was very eager to go travelling and didn't think twice about going alone," said Mr Nixon, a retired company secretary from Kencot, Oxfordshire. "She just laughed and said, 'I'll be home when the money runs out'."

He said: "We spoke on the phone on Wednesday and she said she was having a fantastic time. She had e-mailed her friends and told them she was having fun. It's just unbelievable. We are all over the place at the moment." Ms Nixon's mother, Sandra, said: "Jayne was so excited about going on a big adventure. We would never have imagined that it would end this way. It seems to be a mystery but the question on my mind is who is this man and why did he vanish?"

Mr Hayes, who lived with Ms Nixon in Tring, Hertfordshire, described her as a "friendly, bubbly person without an enemy in the world". He said: "I am devastated. She had wanted to see the world and used the money from the sale of our house to go."

Police said Ms Nixon had checked in to the Bangkok hotel with a man described as black, aged about 30 and 180cm (5ft 11in) tall. Tests at the hospital showed she died between eight and 10 hours before being found.

The Foreign Office said it was still trying to establish more details about the circumstances surrounding Ms Nixon's death.

Two years ago, another British backpacker was found dead in Thailand. Kirsty Jones, 23, a Liverpool University graduate, was raped and murdered at a guesthouse in Chiang Mai, 500 miles north of Bangkok.

No one has stood trial for her murder and her family criticised the Thai police's conduct of the investigation. British police officers have since helped in the inquiry.