A drunken Polish lorry driver who died under the wheels of a lorry could have been laying in the middle of the road at the time he was hit, an inquest heard.

Pawel Kenig’s drinking companions had at first been arrested on suspicion of murder but they were later released.

But their accounts of what actually happened were considered unreliable because they had drunk too much at the time and there was no CCTV evidence.

Mr Kenig was also heavily drunk when he was killed at the Stop 24 services at the M20 Junction 11.

Rachel Redman, Central and South East Kent Coroner, ended the inquest with an open conclusion.

She told the hearing last Wednesday: "This was investigated as a major crime but was downgraded to a routine investigation and not a suspicious death.

"This was investigated as a major crime but was downgraded to a routine investigation and not a suspicious death... None of the witnesses present were able to give accurate accounts because they were drinking..." - Coroner Rachel Redman

"I do not have sufficient evidence given that none of the witnesses present were able to give accurate accounts because they were drinking.

"I am not absolutely certain of the circumstances of Mr Kenig’s death."

Mr Kenig, 35, from the village of Pepowo near Gdansk, died under the rear wheels of a Bulgarian-registered Volvo HGV on the night of last Saturday, October 25.

Det Con David Holmes, of Kent Police Serious Crash Investigation Unit, told the inquest that police had been called out at 11.09pm that night. They spoke to three other Poles, Mr Bielski, Mr Los and Ms Piotrowska.

They at first claimed that they did not know Mr Kenig and had not seen what happened. But they eventually revealed to police that the four had been drinking together in a lorry cab and Mr Kenig was very drunk and had become aggressive and abusive.

As a result of the change of story, Kent Police’s major crime department was told and the trio were arrested.

After interview they were released without charge, the inquest at Folkestone Magistrates Court was told.

DC Holmes said: “There was no evidence to say that they unlawfully killed or were directly involved in this death.’’

But he added that there were no additional witnesses or any CCTV showing how the tragedy happened.

PC Mark Chapelhow, also of Kent Police SCIU, said that the lorry that ran over Mr Kenig was driven by a Bulgarian national, Nikola Histov.

Mr Kenig had been run over by three rear trailer wheels and was pronounced dead at the scene.

PC Chapelhow said that the truck had been moving forward at the time and added: "Mr Kenig was more than likely lying on the road already."

But he said that Mr Kenig could otherwise have somehow been pulled beneath the vehicle.

A post-mortem examination confirmed that Mr Kenig died from head injury but was also found to have 272 micrograms of alcohol per 10 millilitres of blood.

This is well over three times the legal limit for driving of 80.