A grieving couple are demanding answers after their son died in a mystery fire while working abroad.

Brian and Rita Gore have been left devastated after learning Jon Gore perished in a blaze the day before he was due to return home from Denmark.

The 48-year-old was working at a Facebook data centre project in Odense.

The dad-of three had packed his bags, booked a flight and sent a text to mum Rita saying how much he was looking forward to seeing them at their Rochester home.

He had hired a car to get to the airport, arranged for a relative to pick him up from Stansted and messaged his two younger children, aged 13 and 11, organising to meet them.

The site manager, who was working on an island off the mainland, died on Monday, May 20.

The fire broke out in a storeroom at a residency in Kerteminde in what the Danish press are reporting as a possible gas explosion.

His contract, which started in September, had ended and he was coming home "for good", according to his family.

He was so badly burned, he could only be identified by the serial number on a heart pacemaker.

Mr and Mrs Gore were not informed at their home, The Queen Mother Court sheltered housing in Borstal Road, until the early hours of the Wednesday.

Three weeks later, despite numerous calls and emails with authorities in Denmark, they still do not know what happened.

There appears to have been no post-mortem examination carried out and they do not have a cause of death or death certificate.

They have spent about £5,000 getting their oldest son’s body repatriated and are now relying on a post-mortem and inquest in the UK to give them answers.

Retired cleaning supervisor Mr Gore, 70, said: “It’s been like banging your head against a brick wall.

“Nobody seems to care. It just seems he is dead, wrap him up and send him home.

“He lived on the site where he was found but we have no idea what he was doing in that room when he was preparing to come home.”

Mrs Gore, 69, who used to work in the catering department at the Spire Alexandra Hospital in Walderslade, said: “He had a cardiac arrest about eight years ago, but only recently had a check-up and was given the OK.

"Nobody seems to care... it just seems he is dead, wrap him up and send him home" - Brian Gore

“He was in good health. People keep saying they will get back to us but they never do.

“He seemed happy enough to us.

“The day before he died, he sent me a text saying it was a nice evening and he was having a walk along the harbour.”

The divorcee, whose eldest daughter, Layla, 23, lives in London, was a "big family man", according to sister-in law Mandy Gore who is married to his brother Tony, 46.

The 52-year-old mum-of-three, who lives in Rainham, said: “He would not have done anything to upset their kids.

"They are now asking questions and all we can say is 'daddy died in a fire'.

“There are just too many stories flying around.

"He was very close to his children, a good dad and regularly came home at weekends to take them out. Nothing seems to add up to us.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said “We are supporting the family and are in contact with the Danish authorities.”

His boss Martin Merstrand said: “Jon was working for Scan Facility Services (a manpower and logistics company).

“He was hired as a supervisor to a British company providing fire-stopping insulation.

“Jon was respected and liked by his colleagues.”

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