Cortis worked at Buds with Amanda and Rose & CrownCHIPPENHAM NEWS: SUSPECTED killer Ian Cortis was fired from working at a string of Chippenham bars after an incident with a young girl, believed to be sexual.

The 42-year-old who was convicted of two rapes in 1988 was found hanging at his father-in-law's home in Calne on Friday.

Yesterday an inquest, at Trowbridge Town Hall, which was later adjourned, heard Cortis used four dressing gown cords knotted together to hang himself by jumping through the loft hatch.

Cortis was a doorman for the Rose and Crown pub in Market Place and Bud's Bar in Station Hill, but it is believed the self-employed plasterer was fired just before Christmas following complaints from a young woman about his perverted behaviour.

Cortis, of Lineacre Close, Swindon, is thought to have worked at Buds with his wife's close friend, 21-year-old Amanda Edwards, whose body was discovered buried at a Malmesbury building site on Friday.

Pub landlords in Chippenham described Cortis, who was thought to have fallen out with his wife Villette, as a 'violent character who was not liked'.

North Wiltshire District Council could find no records referring to the convicted rapist because they are not required to legally licence door staff until later this year.

Police have declined to give any information on whether or not he was arrested for any offence last year.

Karl Frost of DJ Security, which supply bouncers for Bud's, said: "I do not want to speak of anything to do with Mr Cortis. No comment."

Cortis has a second connection with Chippenham as his father-in-law, Roosevelt Mings, is the brother of former Chippenham Football Club player and caretaker manager Adie Mings.

The family, who are originally from Barbados, refused to comment further about their connection with the suspected killer, and Cortis' wife has tried to keep his name out of the newspapers.

The Mings family have made a stable home in Chippenham over the last 40 years and are well known in the community.

Former Westinghouse worker Leon Mings, of Saxon Street, Chippenham, who, last year, celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife, Ercil, (pictured right, front row) was quoted as saying: "Half of Chippenham knows me and I know the other half."

He and his wife have five sons Adie, Victor Roosevelt, Mondel and Orley, 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.