A British lecturer who was found dead in China was "looking forward to retiring" and had recently concluded an £820,000 property deal.

English language teacher Hilary Bower, 60, was reported missing three weeks ago on March 30 but, according to a statement issued by police, he was killed a week earlier on March 22.

Bower worked at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and lived across the border in the southern mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen, commuting to Hong Kong to teach. He is believed to have lived with his girlfriend and six-year-old son.

Hong Kong police said on Wednesday that they had received notification from mainland authorities that Bower had been killed in China on March 22.

There were no further details given about where he was found or how he died.

A police said it was "possibly a murder" but there had been no confirmation from mainland counterparts.

Bower was last seen on March 21, Hong Kong police said, adding he had crossed from Hong Kong into the mainland. Local reports said Bower was last spotted at a land border checkpoint.

His girlfriend reported him missing at a police station in Hong Kong on March 30, the police statement said.

Friend Richard Charles said Mr Bower was just months away from retiring after selling a property in the Chinese mainland for around £820,000.

He told the Daily Telegraph: "I am devastated by the whole thing. He was very, very happy to be retiring, to be able to do some of his own things and with financial security."