THE MAN has been identified as Stephen Roger Preston - although his identity has been widely misreported in Thailand and Britain as Stephen Prespon.

PHUKET: A British man has died a lonely death in an apartment in southern Phuket, police revealed today.

The 54-year-old man, from Northern Ireland, is thought to have been living in Thailand for about two years.

He was last seen alive in the car park of the apartment block in Chalong about 7pm last Thursday, staffers at the block told local police.

''People at the apartment block noticed an odor and used a spare key to open the door of the seventh-floor apartment at 7pm last night,'' an officer said.

''They found him lying naked, face down, half on and half off the bed.''

Police and rescue workers who attended the scene believe death was caused by a chronic illness. He could have been dead for five days.

Phuketwan has the name of the man but will not publish it until relatives have been notified. The man's body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket City.