THE LONG-AWAITED funeral of a "determined and enthusiastic" son whose body was found in the Malaysian jungle last summer will take place in June, his family has announced.

Gareth Huntley, who formerly lived in Bradford, went missing on Tioman Island on May 27 last year, where he had been helping to monitor the welfare of sea turtles as a wildlife volunteer.

His body was discovered on June 4, but only formally identified after his mother, Janet Southwell, who had travelled to the island, gave blood to hospital staff so a DNA comparison could be made.

The mum, who lives in Bradford, has now written an open letter, posted on Facebook, giving details of the funeral at Leeds Minster on Friday, June 5.

The letter is addressed to "our family of friends and supporters from around the world."

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It said: "After what has been a long and difficult period, we have finally been in a position to arrange Gareth's funeral.

"We hope that all of you - his friends and colleagues - will be able to join us at 2pm on Friday, June 5, at Leeds Minster, to say your goodbyes and to help us celebrate the life of an amazing, compassionate, determined and enthusiastic individual who had such huge zest for life and who had the strongest of convictions that maintaining friendships was all important.

"Friday the 5th of June will be just over a year after Gareth's tragic death... Almost a year without hearing his laugh or his considered debate... It is the month in which he would have celebrated his 35th birthday.

"Coincidentally - yet how appropriate - it is also World Environment Day.

"Thank you all again for your love and support and for being a friend to Gareth."

Mr Huntley, a 34-year-old former pupil of Woodhouse Grove School in Apperley Bridge, was reported missing after going on a trek to visit a waterfall on the island. His family and friends mounted a high-profile campaign to intensify the search for him after he failed to return.

His body was found eight days later, in a pond only a short distance from a kayak storage shed at the Juara Turtle Project, where he had been volunteering during a sabbatical from his job in London.

An iPhone was found nearby, but there was no sign of any personal documentation.

At the time his body was discovered, unconfirmed reports suggested that Malaysian detectives were treating his death as suspicious.

They had reportedly investigated claims he had been involved in a fight before he went missing, but local police were quoted as stating a post-mortem examination had revealed no external injuries.

The Foreign Office confirmed that Mr Huntley's body had been found, but last night refused to give any details on the cause of his death.

On the Facebook page FindGarethHuntley, many people have replied to the letter confirming their plans to attend the funeral service, with others sending best wishes to remember the life of a "great and extraordinary friend."