A date has been announced for the full inquest into the death of missing airman Corrie McKeague - set to take place nearly six years since he vanished.

Corrie, 23, went missing following a night out in Bury St Edmunds in September 2016.

The airman, who was based at RAF Honington, has not been seen since despite an enormous search effort.

Now final preparations are being made to hold the full inquest into his disappearance and death, which Suffolk Coroner's Service says will take place over three weeks from March 7 to April 1 next year.

Thetford & Brandon Times: Police searching the MIlton landfill site during work taking more than six months.Police searching the MIlton landfill site during work taking more than six months.

A jury will be sworn in to hear the inquest and Senior Coroner for Suffolk, Nigel Parsley will preside.

The hearing will look in detail at the circumstances of Corrie's disappearance but will not be an investigation into the police's handling of the case.

Corrie was last seen on CCTV entering a bin loading area behind a row of shops in Bury St Edmunds on Saturday, September 24, 2016, after a night out. It is believed he died after climbing into an industrial bin which was then emptied into a waste lorry.

A multi-million pound investigation, which included two searches of a landfill in Milton, Cambridgeshire, yielded no trace of the RAF gunner.

Thetford & Brandon Times: Senior Coroner for Suffolk Nigel Parsley will preside at the inquestSenior Coroner for Suffolk Nigel Parsley will preside at the inquest (Image: Archant)

Mr Parsley told a pre-inquest hearing: “I’m very minded this will not become an inquiry into the police investigation.

“There has already been an independent review of the police investigation. The inquest is an inappropriate place for a further review.”

However, examining why certain theories were ruled out by police would be included in the hearings.

The review of Suffolk Constabulary's investigation was conducted by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit with the aim of identifying whether any other lines of inquiry should be pursued to uncover new information to find Corrie.

The review found Suffolk police’s work had been “thorough, methodical and detailed” and explored all reasonable lines of inquiry with no new further leads needing to be pursued.

Thetford & Brandon Times: Corrie McKeague served as a gunner with the RAF at HoningtonCorrie McKeague served as a gunner with the RAF at Honington (Image: Archant)

The search of the landfill site lasted more than six months with more than 6,500 tonnes of waste being moved and searched for traces of Corrie.