An inquest into the death of RAF serviceman Corrie McKeague - who vanished after a night out in Bury St Edmunds nearly five-and-a-half years ago - is due to be heard next month.

The full inquest, which is expected to last four weeks, is set to begin on March 7 at Suffolk Coroner's Court in Ipswich.

Mr McKeague, who was stationed at RAF Honington, was last seen on CCTV entering a bin loading area behind a row of shops in Brentgovel Street, on Saturday, September 24, 2016, after a night out drinking with RAF colleagues.

Despite a multi-million pound investigation, which included two separate searches of a landfill site in Milton, Cambridgeshire, no trace of the airman has ever been found.

Suffolk police has maintained that the “most likely” scenario was that Corrie got into a bin and was emptied into a Biffa lorry before consequently ending up in the waste process.

The force previously said although it remains "open-minded", there is no evidence to suggest any foul play or third party involvement.

It added that there has been no corroborated sighting of Corrie and there has been no use of his bank card or passport since his disappearance.

The force also previously said that more than 2,000 hours of CCTV footage had been viewed and Corrie is not seen on any of it.

Investigators deemed it "almost impossible" for Corrie to have left the bin loading area - known as 'the horseshoe' - on foot without being seen.

Today at a pre-inquest review, Suffolk's senior coroner Nigel Parsley ruled that matters of evidence, discussed during legal argument, should not be reported until after the inquest so as not to influence the jury.

Mr McKeague, who is originally from Fife, Scotland, was reported missing at 3.42pm on September 26 by colleagues at RAF Honington.

The investigation was passed to cold case detectives in March 2018.

Speaking on the five-year anniversary of his son's disappearance in September, father Martin McKeague said he was "utterly broken".


"I'm just as devastated as I was when I first found out my son was missing," he said.

"It's been a horrendous five years. It's not got any easier, as a matter of fact, it's got a whole lot worse.

"I miss Corrie every day. I think about Corrie every day. I wish I could put my arms around him.

"I've done what any parent would do in looking for him. I'm utterly broken.

"I just miss him. His laugh, his sense of humour, everything. It really is just a nightmare."