Burnt body in woods: Police treat corpse found in Leigh as 'suspicious'

By Dean Wilkins

The burnt body of a man found in Leigh is being treated as ‘suspicious’ by police after it was discovered in woodland yesterday.

Officers arrived at the wooded area behind Pennington Road at approximately 3pm, April 9, after the badly burnt body of a man was discovered.

Detectives are in the early stages of inquiries and are hoping to establish the man's identity and how he had died.

Superintendent Julian Snowball, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "It's not being treated as a murder inquiry at this moment in time.

"Finding the body of a burnt male on wasteland is clearly suspicious and we are investigating the circumstances of that, but it is far too early to say this is a murder investigation."

Detective Superintendent Jen Williams said: “I know that residents will be alarmed by this incident, but I want to reassure the community that a thorough investigation is now taking place and there are extra patrols in the area.

“I would urge anyone who has information that can assist our inquiries to call us as soon as possible.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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